


Transformers: Despair

by Epicenter



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Anyone can die, Character Death, Crossover, Gen, Gore, mixed universes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-01-17 08:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 88
Words: 318,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1381621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Epicenter/pseuds/Epicenter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peace has finally come to Cybertron and a peace between the Autobots and Decepticons has occurred. However, 75 years later, Decepticons and Autobots get a letter asking them to attend the about to be open Hope's Peak Academy as teachers for the new students. They go, however, they end up trapped in the academy and the only way out is to kill each other. Oh, and there's a talking bear as the headmaster.</p><p>Current Chapter: Chapter 6: Memory Gain?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Letters

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I'm making a crossover, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, all the characters listed are going to be the ones trapped in the school. Any other characters won't be put up there.

**Prologue: Locked Into Despair (BEGIN)**

Peace was a very odd experience, Ratchet decided as he walked to the train station. The war, the one that they wage for several million years, ended a few years ago with the death of Megatron; this time, for good. With the proverbial snake killed, the Decepticon went Ouroborian on themselves, collapsing very quickly, which resulted in minimal bloodshed. Of course, they didn't just toss all the Decepticons in the slammer; they couldn't hold every single one of them even if they wanted to, so they negotiated. It was difficult, considering Starscream was scheming for a way to take advantage of the situation, but they eventually came up with a way for Decepticons to integrate themselves into society, bar a few unrelenting psychopaths that they couldn't risk getting out no matter the cost.

With that done, reconstruction of the planet came relatively easy. Sure, it wasn't a walk in the park, but it was better than constant war. Iacon and Kaon came first, as part of the agreement that they had. Surprisingly, both cities integrated sides, with some Autobots choosing to live in Kaon and vice versa. After that, they expanded, having about a quarter of the planet rebuild now in 75 years. That was certainly better progress than either side expected. It was first thing that both side agreed to work together as an equal force, and it proved most valuable.

Of course, they had another problem: the neutrals. Many of them held ill-will against both sides for bringing Cybertron to its first death. There were riots, protests, the whole nine yards. However, even more negations eventually lend to a shaky truce between the three leaders, Optimus, Starscream, and Metalhawk. It was another crisis averted.

After that, it was a mostly normal reconstruction. All three hated each other, but all of them realize the well-being of the planet was the most important part. There was a strange peace among the three that eventually became a mutual understanding of each other. There was less contempt and fights between each other, and more attempts to help each other. Ratchet became a more optimistic person after those days.

Then came the letter. Ratchet returned to the barracks that held several Autobots, neutrals, and Decepticons. When he entered, an Autobot came in and said that there were a letter from Hope's Peak Academy for Ratchet. As far as Ratchet knew, there wasn't a Hope's Peak Academy in existence, but was surprise to learn that the address was it was in Iacon. Ratchet knew what it was now. Some private investor was building something huge in one area claiming to build a structure that "represented hope to all who see it." Ratchet didn't understand the nonsense that came out of his mouth, but hope wasn't too bad a thing to build a structure for.

Than Ratchet read the letter.

_To Ratchet,_

_Hello! This is the headmaster of the new building "Hope's Peak Academy." You may be wondering why I'm sending a letter to you. Well, it's simple. You're special. To be specific, you're the "Ultimate Medic." Nice title, right? Anyway, this building is taking special students who excel in an area to teach them how to use them. They are "Super" level. In order to teach them, we need to call in some of the best of the field, A.K.A. the "Ultimates."You will be a teacher to the special youth who have emerge from the war with a brand new hope for the world and teach them to use it to bring hope for the next generations to come. I understand if you're suspicious of this letter, but this is a very real thing for me and the students. This school's teachers are strictly Autobot and Decepticon, to represent the unity between us as a whole. If you wish to come, please come a week before the grand opening. Some basic research should help you figure out when that is. I insist that you come and lead the brand new generation to a new world of hope._

_Sincerely,_

_The Headmaster_

Ratchet was quite suspicious of the letter and talked to Optimus about it, who was in the middle of speaking with Jazz. "I'm telling you, this is very weird," Jazz said. The white-and-black 'bot was in the middle of saying to his leader. Optimus was thinking this through before he saw Ratchet coming in.

"Ah, Ratchet. What brings you here?" Optimus questioned. Jazz turned around to face him, a very familiar letter in his hand, Ratchet noticed.

"Looks like the same reason as Jazz," Ratchet noticed, showing his letter to both of them. Optimus looked surprise at seeing that.

"I thought this would be a one-off prank design for a single person, but I'm wrong. Looks like one was given to everyone," Optimus surmised.

"No, that's impossible. Prowl didn't get one as well as every other person I asked on the way here. This is very specific," Jazz said, suspicion in his voice.

"Why special skill did it want you for, Jazz?" Ratchet asked. "Mine was 'Ultimate Medic.'"

"You got called an Ultimate too?" Jazz asked. "Mine was 'Ultimate Audiophile', which fits pretty well," Jazz said, crossing his arm. "This guy put a lot of work into this. This deserved at least a cursory investigation among us," Jazz said. "I mean, I understand a need for a school, but we haven't reach the education stage."

"Well then, how about you two go over there when the day comes to see if this is real. Something like this could be very valuable to reconstructing the planet. We would have needed a school sooner or later. It's best for the world to do this now," Optimus recommended.

"Yeah, I guess it couldn't hurt. At the very least, I would like to see if any Decepticons are going there as well. The letters mentioned that the teachers were going to be both Autobots and Decepticons, but I wonder if the school can really trust them," Ratchet wondered. Before Optimus can answer, a beamed came from the console, indicating that Starscream wanted to talk from Kaon.

"I wonder what the screecher wants?" Jazz asked. Optimus didn't have time to muse these thoughts as he pressed the button, allowing Starscream to show up on the screen, looking like he was about to reach his breaking point. He the background, they could hear Skywarp celebrating something.

"Greetings, Star-"

"Oh, cut the superficial greeting and let me get to the point of why I'm here. Have you heard about this 'Hope's Peak Academy' in your city?" Starscream asked. The three occupants looked at each other in surprised. It looked like the Decepticons did get letters as well.

"Yes, we have. Both Jazz and Ratchet have gotten letters from the place," Optimus answered.

"Well now, looks like Skywarp's not the only one," Starscream muttered.

"Skywarp?" Ratchet asked him incredulously. "What would they want _him_ to teach their students?"

"Apparently, he's an Ultimate-" before he could finished, Skywarp pushed him aside and explained.

"I'm the Ultimate Prankster!" Skywarp shouted, throwing his fists in the air. "I knew someone would finally recognize my skills," Skywarp said smugly.

"Being able to prank gets you in the school?" Jazz asked, bemused.

"Yep!" Skywarp said, resting his hands to the said."And I know who my first target is going to be…" Skywarp left off, living the implication in the air. "Anyway, I'm going to pack. See you fraggers at the school," Skywarp said, warping off. Starscream returned to the screen, gritting his teeth in absolute rage.

"How did that moron get invited to that school?" he murmured to himself before calming himself down. "Doesn't matter. At least he won't be bothering me and Thundercracker for a long time," he said, looking back at the screen. "That's all," he said, turning the screen off, leaving the Autobots to contemplate what had just occurred.

"It appears the Decepticons have been invited after all, and at least Skywarp is going over there," Optimus said, thinking this through.

"It looks like this is very serious and not a prank," Ratchet murmured to himself.

"All the more you should go there," Optimus suggested.

"But we don't know anything about the building, or even who commissioned it to be built," Jazz argued. "We should at least figured that out before we go over there."

"Then I will leave you to it," Optimus said, motioning for them to leave. The two Autobots left, thinking to themselves how they were going to solve.

The investigation lasted a week, ending the day before they had to go to the academy. It turned up exactly nothing useful. They figured out that the building was privately constructed and the money required for it was astronomical. The person had to have very deep pockets. Aside from that, they couldn't find any information on the man, who prefer to be anonymous. According to what they have read, they would figure out who he was when they entered the building, so if they wanted to know, they would have to go over there.

However, it wasn't a complete waste, as they figured some more that was going. Nightbeat came to see them shortly after about being invited, named the "Ultimate Detective." He also noticed that Bumblebee got one too, probably labeled the "Ultimate Scout." He also saw Rewind and Chromedome talking together about being invited, labeled "Ultimate Archivist" and "Ultimate Mnemosurgeon," respectively. On the Decepticon side, Soundwave and Shockwave were both invited as "Ultimate Communications Director," and "Ultimate Logician," respectively. All the Combaticons were invited as well, being labeled the "Ultimate Tactician" (Onslaught), "Ultimate Brawler" (Brawl), "Ultimate Interrogator" (Vortex), "Ultimate Sniper (Blast Off), and "Ultimate Merchant" (Swindle). There was a few more on each side, according to reports, but they had no idea who it was.

Now Ratchet was waiting at the train station to take them to the building. Jazz had to do some final things for Prowl before he could come and insisted he go by himself. Now, Ratchet was up extremely early in the morning with no one around and the sun hadn't even come up yet. Ratchet was by himself, alone to all of his thoughts about the place.

"Hey, Ratchet, dude. What are you doing here?" Or so he thought. He turned around to see Beachcomber coming up to him. What was he doing up so early?

"Waiting for the train to take me to this Hope's Peak Academy," Ratchet informed him.

"Wait, you've been invited too?" Beachcomber asked. "I got invited as the 'Ultimate Geologist.' I'm guessing you're here as the 'Ultimate Medic,' right, man?" he asked. Ratchet gave a nod. Before he could speak, the train came roaring in and the two entered the train, taking a seat across from each other, the only one in the cart. "So, why are you up so early?" he asked again.

"I just thought I come here early and see what it had to offer before everyone else," Ratchet explained. "You?" he asked. Beachcomber rubbed his head nervously, thinking it through, before answering.

"Couldn't recharge well. Kept getting nightmares. I don't know why, but this place gives me the shivers, man," Beachcomber said. "I haven't even been there yet."

"Are you going to be fine?" Ratchet asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I mean, it's just an academy, right? What the worst that can happen?" he asked, before pausing and looking thoughtful. "I just screwed us over, didn't I?"

"Probably."

"Scrap…" Beachcomber drawled out, staying silent, which Ratchet agreed too. The two stayed on the train together until they both reached the stop and got off together. "So, you've seen the place right? I have and it's huge," Beachcomber said, over-expressing himself, flying his arms wildly.

"Yes, I have. It is pretty gigantic," Ratchet commented as they exited the train station. "In fact, there's out proof," he said, looking across the train station to the academy. It was several stories wide and had several buildings connected to each other.

"Well, here we go. You first," Beachcomber gestured, getting behind Ratchet. Ratchet looked at him before giving a groan.

"Beachcomber, I doubt anything is going to happen to us just by walking on the school grounds," Ratchet chastised. He walked across the deserted street to the school sidewalk, Beachcomber right behind him. "Now, Beachcomber, watched as I take a step on the school grounds and nothing happens," Ratchet said, taking a step on the ground.

And promptly blacked out.


	2. Prologue: Meet the Autobots

Ratchet onlined with a furious processor ache, pounding against his CPU. The medic groaned, lifting the head off the desk his head was on. The Autobot looked around the room he was in. It appeared to be a classroom, due to the desks around the area and the various poster about Cybertronian anatomy. There was a camera to his right, bolted on top of the ceiling. The place where the windows usually were was bolted with solid steel plates. Blaster fire wouldn't take that down. Looking at the desk he was sitting behind, Ratchet realized that it was a teacher's desk, not a student one.

The big question was obvious. How the frag did he get in here? All Ratchet remembered was taking a single step on the school grounds and blacking out. Which meant two things: he owe Beachcomber an apology and there was some seriously weird stuff going on here if that happen. It almost seemed supernatural how it happened. Of course, Ratchet didn't believe in ghosts, but he had seen weirder stuff happened.

Seeing nothing that could help him out in this situation, Ratchet shakingly got up out of the very comfortable chair and into the hallway. The floor was checkered black-and-white, with beige walls, and the lights giving off a maroon color. Ratchet looked dazed by the weird style that didn't blend well with his red-and-white paint job before stepping out, looking for anyone. He transverse the hall until he turned at the corridor, stepping into a green-lit hall.

"Hello, Ratchet," greeted a certain mech, looking at a painting. His arms, feet, and lower body were colored blue, while the rest was yellow, with red flames on his arms.

"Nightbeat," Ratchet said.

"That's me," he replied, turning to look at him. "Quite a bit of trouble we're in," he remarked.

"Don't remind me," Ratchet said, rubbing his head.

"So, if I'm correct, we were all invited here because we were all the best at something, correct?" he asked.

"You got it right," Ratchet replied. "I'm the Ultimate Medic."

**Ratchet**

**Ultimate Medic**

**Perhaps the most famous medic in the Autobot army, his hands have become legendary with how quick and efficient they work. It is rumor that not a single person has die under his care.**

"No points for guessing what I am," Nightbeat said, turning back to the painting.

**Nightbeat**

**Ultimate Detective**

**Nightbeat is a part-time soldier, full-time detective. He has had his hand in many different police cases and dabble in conspiracy theories for explaining various otherworldly events. His main theory has to do with the Institute, which, he says, is some sort of shadow organizations that messes with people brains, but everybody agrees that is just absurd.**

"You should go find the other Autobots. They're around here somewhere," Nightbeat said with a shrug. Ratchet agreed, walking past him into the next hallway. "Don't forget to check the rooms!" Nightbeat called out from behind him. Ratchet did as he said, looking into the rooms. The first few revealed nothing, but the next one revealed a couple.

"Ratchet, what up?" A blue, red, and white Bot closest to him said, who had his arm crossed and rubbing his chin.

"Smokescreen, you're here?"

"Yep"

**Smokescreen**

**Ultimate Gambler**

**Smokescreen is a liar, a cheater, and a near-obsessive compulsive gambler. When he is not acting as an aloof ally to the Autobots, he's getting in illegal games with the Autobots, winning most of the games he comes across.**

"So, what do you think about being trap here?" Smokescreen asked.

"Right now, I just want to find the headmaster and beat his head in," Ratchet replied.

"Hah, good to know we're on the same page, although beating him is the only thing we can do. All of our weapons system have been turned offline," Smokescreen said darkly.

"Really?" Ratchet asked, before testing it out. He couldn't turn on his blaster, but he could bring out his medical devices. "Huh, blades and other devices work, but not the blasters," Ratchet noticed.

"That is very unusual," said a voice to his left. He turned to see a green bot.

"Hound. Where's the rocket that's always carried on your shoulder?" Ratchet asked.

I have absolutely no idea," Hound responded, rubbing his head.

**Hound**

**Ultimate Preservationist**

**Hound is someone who cares deeply about preserving the environment. When Cybertron became a hell-hole wasteland, Hound despaired for a long time, until he visited Earth. Since then, he's been working behind the scenes on Earth to preserve it as well as the newly revived Cybertron.**

"This whole place is very weird," Hound replied, looking stress. "Me and Smoke was looking for a way out, but we can't find any. Those plates are thick."

"That's putting it lightly. It's like trying to punch out Metroplex," Smokescreen replied. Totally impossible without the right tools."

"Right, well, I'd better go. Quick question, did you two black out when you got here?" Ratchet asked. The two looked surprise before both answered yes. "Now that is a mystery. I'd bet Nightbeat already figured out that it happen to all of us."

"Yeah, but why did we all experience them," Hound asked.

"I'm pretty sure no else has an idea on that," Smokescreen replied. "Anyway, you better go fine the rest. Me and Hound will continue to find a way out of here," Smokescreen replied, turning back to the window. Ratchet followed his advice, heading back into the hallway and into sight of someone else."

"Ratchet," Beachcomber said, the blue bot running over to him.

"Beachcomber," Ratchet said, looking down at the smaller mech.

"Hey, I have no idea why but I blacked out when we arrived, man," Beachcomber replied nervously.

**Beachcomber**

**Ultimate Geologist**

**Beachcomber is probably the most knowledgeable person about what makes up Cybertron under the surface. A technical pacifist, he only fights to protect himself or others who can't defend themselves. He almost stayed out of the war until an incident involving the death of several neutrals and Autobots convince him to help the Autobots.**

"You're not the only one. This has happen to everyone who's in here," Ratchet replied.

"Really? Aw, scrap..." he replied, looking around. "I know where a few more people are. They're in the main hall. We're supposed to meet there after we're done exploring," Beachcomber said, dragging Ratchet by the wrist and dragging him along. Ratchet followed along reluctantly, running behind him at an equal pace. The duo arrive to find a trio in the main hallway.

"Ratchet!" one of them reacted enthusiastically, running over to greet him. The bot was mostly white with some red lines on him and some kanji written on him. "It's good to see you again."

"Drift. Let me guess, you're here because of your swordsmanship," Ratchet guessed.

"Well, I don't think anything else I do is Ultimate level, so yeah."

**Drift**

**Ultimate Swordsman**

**A former Decepticon, he defected after he met a faction of neutrals. He abandoned guns and became a swordsman, becoming one of the best in the universe, and joined the Autobots to make up for his past crimes and becoming one of the more religious members of the Autobots.**

"Say, you think I can find some candles around here? I was hoping to do a ritual to dispel the pale aura surrounding this building," Drift asked.

"Dude, where are _your_ drugs?" Beachcomber asked.

"I just woke up a few minutes ago. You know more about the building than I do," Ratchet admitted.

"Really? Wow, didn't realize you were a heavy sleeper," Drift said half-seriously.

"Yeah, I'll remember that comment the next time you're in for repairs," Ratchet threatened.

"There's the Ratchet everybody loves," Drift smiled. "Say, come say hi to Chromedome and Rewind," he said, walking over to them. Ratchet followed along, approaching the two.

"Hey, Ratchet," the small white-and-black 'bot with a red faceplate said.

"Hello Rewind. Still recording everything you see?" Ratchet asked.

"What else?"

**Rewind**

**Ultimate Archivist**

**If Rewind didn't record you, you never met him. Always recording everything he sees, he acts as a recorder of major and minor events of history. Conjunx Enduras with Chromedome.**

"Me and Chromey are just hanging around, waiting for everybody else to return," Rewind said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm guessing you two are still Conjux Enduras, correct?" Ratchet asked.

"Certainly," Chromedome replied. He was rather tall with a paint job of two different shades of orange and some white. "And we'll still be once we get out of this place."

**Chromedome**

**Ultimate Mnemosurgeon**

**A skilled Mnemosurgeon, he dwells in looking into the memories of people, both living and dead. His most successful and well-known case was Decepticon psychopath, Overlord, obtaining information crucial to the Autobot cause. Conjunx Enduras with Rewind.**

"How do we get out?" Rewind asked.

"We're Autobots. We'll find a way out of our situation, trust me," Chromedome comforted the small bot, drawing him in. "Nobody will hurt you."

"Hey, cheer up. Once Perceptor returns, he'll tell us how to bust out of this place," Drift optimistically said.

"If you had made a bet with that statement, you would've lost," a voice said from behind them. The group turned to see two people walking together. One was dark-red with some teal thrown in and a blue visor covering one eye while the other was blue-and-gray. The red one continued. "Those walls are thicker than the ones we use at the Autobot base and I can't find the Science lab here, hmpf" Perceptor explained, disgusted at the last part.

**Perceptor**

**Ultimate Scientist**

**One of the most versatile and efficient scientist of either armies, he is always seeking knowledge from various places. His discoveries have change the way several people look at things going on the universe and has earn him critical acclaim from both sides, the Decepticons trying numerous times to capture him.**

"Meanwhile, I've looked around and found absolutely no information about why we're here or who built this," the other bot said.

**Mirage**

**Ultimate Scion**

**One of the most rich and affluent members of Cybertron, he used his wealth to help the Autobots fight the Decepticons, proving crucial in obtaining a number of supplies. He is also one of the ambassadors between the two sides, having wanting peace since this whole war started.**

"Aw, man. That's a bummer," Beachcomber said, dejected.

"However, I will reluctantly admit that the person has exceptionally good taste. The paintings and digital art are all from extremely well-respected artist and the security cameras panels covering the windows are made from Titanium Dibirode ad laced with nanocrystaline diamonds. Those windows won't come down through sheer force," Mirage gloomily said. "We will have to find another way around them."

"That's unlikely," came someone else who just walked in, a yellow-and-black bot. I've check every single room and found no way out. Heck, some of the hallways are inaccessible to us."

**Bumblebee**

**Ultimate Scout**

**Quite possibly the best scout in the Autobot army, and certainly the most well-known, his ability to sneak and see what the Decepticons had planned has been crucial in a number of Autobot victories.**

"This place is trying to seal us off from everywhere, it seems," Chromedome mentioned.

"Ah, well. I guess we shouldn't worry about," Rewind mentioned from beside him. Once everybody sees the state of the building, the Autobots will just come on down and save us. I mean, no one could possible get away with this, could they?" Rewind asked.

"He's right," Drift agreed. "We just need to keep our spirits up and the Autobots will start busting the walls down.

"Need I remind you how thick these walls are," Perceptor said.

"Or how hard the window plates are?" Mirage added.

"Then they'll just use the big guns," Drift argued. "Don't they have laser drills and stuff like that?" Drift asked.

"I'm pretty sure what's in the window panes is in the walls as well," Mirage said. "These walls are not meant to tumble down just from some laser drills. You would have to use some really specific techniques to make these walls crumble," he argued.

"Guys," Beachcomber interrupted, "can we wait until everyone gets back before we start thinking of ways out of here?" Beachcomber asked anxiously, looking around. "We should talk about it as a full group."

"I'm fine with that," Drift said.

"Oh, hey Ratchet. Nice to see you up!" said a voice as they walked in. Ratchet turned to see Jazz rounding a corridor to him. "I see you got here just fine," Jazz added.

"If by fine, you mean black out as soon as I come here and have no idea how, then you're correct," Ratchet snapped.

"Ah, I see it happen to you as well," Jazz murmured.

**Jazz**

**Ultimate Audiophile**

**One of the most knowledgeable person on music, both Earth and Cybertron, and the second-in-command of the Autobot army. He may be one of the most laid-back members of the army, but he is able to improvise and add style to everything he does.**

"Yeah, it happen to all of us," Smokescreen said as he came in with Hound and Nightbeat. "Someone has a really fancy device in order to do this."

"This is more peculiar. I wonder which organization is behind this," Nightbeat wondered out loud. Before could toy with the thought, they heard the sound of a rumbling engine. Suddenly, a blue race car came around the corner and transform to robot form.

"There is absolutely nothing to entertain us here," the 'bot said. "They don't even have a race track or a bar."

**Blurr**

**Ultimate Racer**

**The number-one racer in Cybertron until the war started, Blurr is one of the most fastest members of the Autobots, able to deliver critical items and details faster than anybody else.**

"Perhaps we should worry less about entertainment and more about finding a way out," Perceptor admonished.

"Hey, judging by the look of things, we're going to be here for a while, so I just thought to check for anything to do," Blurr defended. "Besides, I'm sure Optimus will come in here soon and bust these walls down. We're not in any real threat."

"Well, getting off that, is that everyone," Bumblebee asked.

"I think so. I don't remember anyone else waking up," Hound said.

"So, Ratchet is the last one to wake up?" Drift asked.

"It would appear so," Perceptor agreed. "Which leads to what we should do?" Before anyone could offer an idea, a voice from the speakers rang out.

"Attention teachers!" a high pitch voice rang from the speakers. "Please head to the auditorium at this time!" the speakers rang silent at that announcement, leaving them by themselves.

"Alright, so how do we get there?" Blurr asked the group. At that, signs came down from the ceiling, showing arrows to where to go. "Ah, that helps," he said, walking over to where the signs pointed.

"Wait!" Rewind shouted. "Why should we head over there? We're safe here," he pointed out.

"Oh, really?" the voiced asked again. "Well now, if you don't follow the rules, you will be punished! And that would be terrible if that was to happen so soon before the fun even started," the voice said, trailing off.

"Punished?" Chromedome asked, confused, as was everyone else.

"Uh, I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to risk angering the guy. We should go there," Beachcomber said.

"I agree. Any objections?" Mirage asked the group. No one spoke up "Good. Now let's see who's responsible for this whole mess," Mirage encouraged, walking to where the arrows pointed towards. Everyone looked at each other before following along. The group walked around the place until they reached the double doors it led too. The group paused for a second before Bumblebee opened the doors, showing a big room. It was large room, being several stories high with a stage for an announcer to address the students. Walls were painted white except for the wall on the right painted a gun-metal gray. The chairs were painted a comforting red color and looked very comfortable to sit. It appeared that they had entered from the left side.

"Oh, good. I'm not alone," came a dark-green 'bot who was already sitting in one of the chairs. "I was worried there for a second."

**Hoist**

**Ultimate Repairer**

**Normal in everything except his repairing skills, Hoist is one of the most sensible but withdrawn people in the Autobot ranks. Takes each day as it is, doing critical repairs like he earns a paycheck and stays in the background after accomplishing it, dismissing the praise he gets.**

"Hoist?" Bumblebee asked. "You were invited too?"

"Yeah. I just woke up a few minutes ago and heard an announcement telling me to come here. I was hoping to find the rest of you here," he explained.

"Everyone, take a seat," the voice came back. Everyone hesitated before talking a seat relatively close to each other. Without pause, the voice started again. "Now, before I appear, meet the other teachers!" the voiced said, causing looks of confusion amongst everybody. Suddenly, the off colored wall split apart, revealing the other half of the room.

In there, the Decepticons were looking at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the Autobot cast. Please leave a comment about how you think about them.


	3. Prologue: Meet the Decepticons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the Decepticons, which makes most of the cast. I still gotta introduce the master of ceremonies.

Skywarp gave a groaned as he woke up on top of a teacher's desk. It felt like he drank a lot of high-grade and was dealing with a hangover. He onlined his optics and looked around what seemed to be a classroom of some sort. He tried to figure out why he would be in a school in the first place. The purple-and-black seeker got up off the desk and looked for the window and was surprised about the steel plate blocking them. Apparently, this was one of those special schools where your life was over as soon as you entered it. It would also explain the camera looking at him right now, watching every move he made.

He silently wondered if it would continue to watch him if he did some annoying singing.

Skywarp went through his database looking for a reason why he was here until he figured it out: Hope's Peak Academy. The school invited him so he could teach valuable skills to the feature generations of Cybertronians, "to bring hope to the future generations to come." Which was sort of like asking Misfire for lessons on how to properly shoot a gun. Eh, whatever. It promised some time away from Starscream and Thundercracker. And now he was trapped in a school that offered no way out.

Well, except for his warp drive, which can teleport him out of here. Skywarp got ready to teleport himself out of here, checking his power supply to make sure he had enough. Seeing it suitable, he teleported in a purple flash.

BANG

"Ow," Skywarp muttered as he slid down the wall.

**Skywarp**

**Ultimate Prankster**

**The most loyal member of the elite trine, he's not very bright, but has a warp drive that allows him to teleport. He's well known amongst the Decepticons for being a serial prankster, his favorite method being pushing people down stairs.**

Skywarp picked himself off the ground, wondering how the fragged that happened. Stuff like that shouldn't happen, no matter the circumstances. How the fragged can walls keep him from teleporting outside. He didn't even know any technology that can keep him from teleporting out. Must've been Perceptor, the fragger.

Deciding he needed to check out the rest of his prison, he headed out the door to see if anybody was in the hallway.

And became face-to-face to Soundwave's visor.

"AH! Slender!" Skywarp screamed, jumping back. The lithe, black form of Soundwave tilted his head at the seeker before asking in a prerecorded voice of Megatron:

"Skywarp, status report." Skywarp hyperventilated for a second before calming down and putting on a grim face.

"Megatron? Seriously? Low blow," Skywarp chastised.

"Skywarp, status report?" he asked in Starscream's screechy voice.

"Ugh, I came here to get away from him," Skywarp complained.

"What are you doing?" he asked in Skywarp's voice.

"Talking to myself is kind of _awkward_."

"Skywarp, what are you doing?" came Thundercracker's voice.

"Eh... I guess that works," Skywarp agreed, crossing his arms, before recounting how he woke up. "I woke up in this prison on top of a desk with what appears to be serious hangover and a camera watching me. I hope I didn't do anything stupid while I was recharging," Skywarp muttered darkly. "Anyway, I opened the door and came face-to-face, er, visor to you and have no idea how this happen. Now look where we are," Skywarp ended.

"About the same," he replied.

**Soundwave**

**Ultimate Communications Expert**

**Third-in-Command of the Decepticons, he acts as Megatron ever loyal ear to Decepticon and Autobot operations, thwarting attempts from** _**both** _ **sides to end his life numerous times. Speaks mostly with other people's recorded voices and uses loyal minicons and groundbridges.**

"Hey, how's Laserbeak?" he said, scratching his chest where Laserbeak was.

"Alive," Soundwave replied.

"Come on, got anything else to say?" he asked.

"No."

"Hmpf, no fun," Skywarp complained, getting his hand off Laserbeak. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" he asked.

"No. Stranger: cannot use groundbridge," Soundwave said.

"Wait, really? I can warp, but not out of the school. I learned that the hard way," Skywarp said, rubbing his face. Did it leave a scratch?

"Perplexing," Soundwave replied.

"You know, we don't go on many missions together or anything like that, but you want to stick together to see if we can find anybody else?" Skywarp asked the mech.

"It would be the wisest thing to do," Soundwave agreed. "Pick where to go."

"Uh, okay. Left is alright, but right is always right. So, right," Skywarp chose, walking that direction, Soundwave following behind him. It didn't take long before they found a whole gestalt full of people.

"Come on Brawl! I didn't make a bet with Swindle just to lose to him!" a gray helicopter was screaming at a green tank that was trying in vain to pull a window out.

"Vortex, you should've known better," said a small purple-and-tan mech leaning against the wall.

"Shut it! Brawl, quick pulling like a petrobunny and pull the damn thing off of its hinges or I'll rip you're optics out," the helicopter 'encouraged' the tank.

**Vortex**

**Ultimate Interrogator**

**A member of the Combaticons, and quite possibly the most insane of them. He specializes in 'information retrieval' and has broken many Autobots and some Decepticons to help the Decepticons cause. Tactics include high-altitude, knives, and terrible singing.**

"I'm trying, but this is proving to be really difficult," the tank replied, straining with all his might.

**Brawl**

**Ultimate Brawler**

**Talk to the fist is Brawl's motto. That, and talk to the tank shell. Brawl is a member of the Combaticons and is the most front-lined of them, always rushing into the Autobot ranks to make them eat his fist.**

"Well, duh. The plates are bolted to the walls. It practically impossible to pull out," the short mech said.

**Swindle**

**Ultimate Merchant**

**Hide the silver! And the Gold! And anything else of value. Swindle is a greed driven mech and member of the Combaticons. He handles all the accounting for the Decepticons and works as a black market merchant to anyone.** _**Anyone** _ **.**

"Ugh, you are all morons," came a very tall purple-and-brown mech leaning against the wall.

**Blast Off**

**Ultimate Sniper**

**Whether on the ground or in the atmosphere launching bombs and missiles down to earth, Blast Off has proven to be one of the most accurate and cold Decepticons in the army. Member of the Combaticons, he's the most aloof of them and prone to going off by himself for lengthy periods of time to watch soap operas.**

"Not our faults were like to have fun!" Vortex shot back. "Come on! Put some actual effort into it!"

"I'm trying, dammit!" Brawl said, switching his grip.

"Can we actually try to find a way out," the blue-and-green mech exasperated.

**Onslaught**

**Ultimate Tactician**

**Commander of the Combaticons and one of Megatron chief commanders, his tactical knowledge has proven to be invaluable to the Decepticons. Has a major rivalry with Prowl, causing some to think that going up against each other is foreplay for them.**

"This is getting us nowhere," Onslaught complained, turning to look at the new visitors. "Skywarp. Soundwave. How are you?"

"Besides completely enraged that we're trapped here," Vortex interjected.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Soundwave asked.

"Nothing. These morons are just wasting our time," Blast Off said, indicating the ones in the betting scheme.

"Hey, I would just like you to know that this is productive. We're trying to figure out whether Brawl's a mech or a wussy femme," Vortex mocked, glaring at his ally. "Come on, already! Move the damn plate!" he shouted at Brawl.

"Oh, that's it!" Brawl said, letting go of the window and heading to the helicopter, cracking his knuckles. "You want to see what I can do with my hands?" Brawl threaten.

"Oh, scrap," Onslaught muttered to himself. "You two, get out of here and find the others. I'll handle this," Onslaught said to Skywarp and Soundwave, heading over to Brawl and Vortex. Skywarp and Soundwave followed that ordered and headed out of there.

"Mine if I come with you? Being around too many idiots is bad for my health," Blast Off asked.

"Don't know why you would want to leave. This is entertaining," Swindle said, watching with interest.

"This is below me," Blast Off said, walking in step with the other two. Once they were out of hearing range, Blast Off talked again. "Ugh, what a bunch of morons. Skywarp, you are officially off my list of most annoying people," Blast Off congratulated.

"Aw, how do I get back on there?" Skywarp teased.

"Like I would tell you," Blast Off said with a huff. "We would be able to get out of here if Onslaught wasn't missing his T-cog."

"Onslaught is missing a T-cog?" Soundwave asked.

"Yeah, it was one of the first things we noticed. There was an incision where it would be and he couldn't transform. Someone had an ample opportunity to kill at least him, but decided not to. I wonder why?" Blast off said, lightly rubbing his chin.

"How… odd," Soundwave said, suddenly stopping. "Do you hear that?" he asked them. The other two stopped and listened. The two immediately realized it was a motor. The answer of who was answered immediately by a black sports car coming around the corridor and straight towards them.

"Out of the way, ahahahahah!" the car said.

**Wildrider**

**Ultimate Manic**

**By far one of the most insane members of the Decepticon army and the craziest Stunticon, Wildrider relies on being crazy to out-fox his enemies. Whether it hurts or hinders him, he does anything that will catch anyone off guard, including an incident where he set himself** _**on fire** _ **.**

The trio immediately jumped out of the way, letting the car past by and seeing another sports car come out of the corridor, this time with a red paint-job and white strips. "Get back here! You scratched my paint-job!"

**Knock Out**

**Ultimate Fashion Expert**

**Quite possibly the vainest of the Decepticons, Knock Out is one of the Decepticons commanding medics and head of the fashion police. Favorite target is the Constructicons for having "the ugliest paint job in existence! Who in there right mine said that purple and green looked good together."**

The red car sped past them after the black car that had turned a corner, leaving the trio by themselves again. "What the frag was that?" Skywarp asked

"It looked like the insane Stunticon and Knock out," Blast Off answered.

"Yes, it was," a voice behind them said. The three turned to see a red-gold-and-black mech walking towards them. "Hopefully, they crash and kill each other. Makes for one less annoyance in this pathetic life."

"But Widrider is a part of your Gestalt," Blast Off pointed out.

"Your point?" Dead End asked.

**Dead End**

**Ultimate Poet**

**Part-time poet, part-time soldier, full-time pessimist. Dead End wakes up disappointed he didn't die in his sleep and recharges longing for death. One wonders why he doesn't just commit suicide. That and why he buffers himself so much.**

"I forgot how cheerful you were, Dead End," Skywarp sarcastically said, walking past him. "Come on, let's see if we can find anybody more fun to talk with," Skywarp ordered.

"Alright. Leave me to despair by myself. I will report back if Wildrider and Knockout kill each other," Dead End replied, walking past them to where Knock Out and Wildrider went. The trio watched him go before looking for more of the Decepticons around here. It didn't take more before they arrived in a big room and encountered the rest.

"Hey, what up everybody!?" Skywarp screamed out, walking towards the center of the room to see everybody. "So, any working plans out of here?" he asked. Everyone looked at him, before heading back to their own devices. Skywarp mood deflated, hanging his head in annoyance.

"Maybe we should address them one at a time," Soundwave recommended.

"Fine," Skywarp agreed, looking to see who he should start with. "Let's start with the A-list," he said, walking over to a big hulking mech with one red eye. "Shockwave, my incredibly scary buddy! How are you today," he asked in his most casual tone possible.

"We are confined to a prison with no means of escape. That is a poor question to ask."

**Shockwave**

**Ultimate Logician**

**Shockwave is the leading scientist of the Decepticons and a very scary mech to deal with. Almost no one wants to get in the same room with him for fear of being experimented on by the emotionless machine whose actions are run solely on logic.**

"Yeah, that's kinda stupid of me," Skywarp agreed.

"Now, would you kindly leave me with my own devices. Just because no method is visible yet, doesn't mean I can't think one out," Shockwave warned, turning his back to him.

"Yeah, you got it. Sure," Skywarp agreed, backing up quite a bit before bumping in to someone. "Hey ther-," he began before getting choke off by the individual grabbing him by the neck and lifting him off the ground. Skywarp saw himself face to face with what looked like a green-and-yellow mech decked in samurai gear.

"If you value your life, you will keep your distance from me, foolish one," he threatened.

**Bludgeon**

**Ultimate Metallikato Expert**

**Bludgeon causes fear to everyone he meets. Skill in the ancient art of Metallikato, he ruthlessly slays anyone in his path with such ruthless efficiency that he avoids snark in this entry.**

"Do you understand?" he asked the seeker. Skywarp gave a light shaking of his head for yes or at least as much as he could with Bludgeon holding him in his death grip.

"Good," he said, before tossing Skywarp to some other part of the room and into a light-blue bot that was by himself.

"AH!" they both screamed as Skywarp landed on top of the unfortunate mech. The blue mech gave a groaned and asked in a disgruntle tone.

"Can you give off me?" Skywarp's optics brightens at that and immediately got off the mech. That was Megatron's voice.

"Forgive me lord Megatron! I got thrown into you by… by…" Skywarp paused as he looked at the mech that was getting off the ground. "Hey, you're not Megatron!" Skywarp pointed out angrily.

"No duh," the mech said grumpily with what sounded _exactly_ like Megatron's voice. "I still wonder why I got invited here," the mech said.

"Do you know why?" Skywarp asked.

"Apparently, I won a lottery and got invited to be a teacher as Ultimate Luck, although considering our situation; I'm thinking that's a lie."

**Nautilator**

**Ultimate (Un)Luck**

**Member of the Seacons, Nautilator is an utter buffoon, whose luck is of questionable amount. Anguish screams of "Nautilator!" ringed in from every corner of the Decepticon command, earning him the ire of most of the Decepticon command. He does get letters from the DJD to come see them sometimes, promising not death, but something more… kinky.**

"Yeah, you're not very lucky if I just crashed into you," Skywarp said.

"Nautilator's inability to be lucky is quite well-known among the Decepticons," Blast Off said from behind him.

"He is quite unlucky," Soundwave agreed behind him.

"Humph. Than he's probably useless to us. Let's ask the others," Skywarp said, walking away.

"Useless? I'm not useless! I'm not…" Nautilator trailed off as he turned and looked at the wall.

"Alright, who should we talk to next," Skywarp said, looking at two green-and-purple mechs who were talking together or the dark-blue mech that was that was hanging by himself. "Hmm, let's talk to the Constructicons first," Skywarp said, walking to the two builders. The two immediately took noticed of them and the bigger one spoke.

"What do you want?" he asked. Skywarp noticed that they both looked twitchy, but while the smaller was doing it because he was nervous, the one talking to him was calm, not nervous at all.

"We were wondering if you have any idea if you know why we're here or how we get out, Mixmaster," Blast Off said, taking the lead.

"If we did, you think I would be acting on that right now?" the mech asked. "If you find me some chemicals, I might be able to whip something up."

**Mixmaster**

**Ultimate Chemist**

**Member of the Constructicons, Mixmaster is a master of his trade, making explosives to takedown anything that gets in the way of the Decepticons. He also makes painkillers and drugs to sell to help fund the Constructicons, but has a habit to sample his own stuff.**

"We haven't found any chemicals in the area," Soundwave informed them.

"Well then, this conversation is useless. Go talk to someone else about this," Mixmaster said, turning away. The trio looked at each other, before Skywarp asked:

"What about Scavenger. Has he found anything," he asked about the mech, who was currently rubbing his shovel-tail worryingly.

"He's not talking much, but if he finds anything, I'll inform you. He has a habit of finding useful things," Mixmaster agreed, turning to Scavenger. "Isn't that right, Scavenger?" he asked him. The mech looked at them before saying nervously:

"Yeah, I can find some stuff that might help. Don't worry," he said nervously, before getting lost in his own thoughts again.

**Scavenger**

**Ultimate Scavenger**

**Scavenger spends hours after hours, looking for resources to prove his worth to the Decepticons. He can find some useful stuff at times, but most of the time, he ends up making himself look like an idiot, furthering his self-esteem problems.**

The three nodded before heading to the only other mech they haven't talked too, only to see that he was gone. "Hey, where did the last guy go?" Skywarp asked.

"Attention teachers! Please head to the auditorium at this time!" the voice asked from over the speakers. Suddenly, signs came out from out of the ceiling, pointing to where they needed to go.

"Uh, you think we should listen to the voice?" Skywarp asked.

"Oh, really?" the voiced asked again. "Well now, if you don't follow the rules, you will be punished! And that would be terrible if that was to happen so soon before the fun even started," the voice said, trailing off.

"What the frag does e mean by 'punish?'" Skywarp asked everyone.

"Perhaps it would be wise to venture to where he wants us and find out?" Shockwave recommended.

"Either way, I'm sure bad things will happen," Scavenger spoke out.

"More than likely," Bludgeon agreed, "but I want to see the face of my captive before I send him to oblivion."

"Alright, so it's agreed. We go see whatever psychopath got us captive," Skywarp said to the room. No one disagreed. "Alright, let's follow the arrows," Skywarp ordered, heading to where they would lead them. The group went through a couple of turns before arriving at a pair of double doors. The group looked at each other before Skywarp opened the door and looked inside. They looked inside to see a large room with a stage and comforting red chairs. Inside, everyone else was waiting. The other Combaticons were sitting together, Onslaught and Swindle inbetween Vortex and Brawl to keep them from fighting. Dead End, similarly, was in-between Knock Out and Wildrider, who both wore multiple scratches to the finish. Standing up, looking for a place to sit, was the dark-blue mech from earlier that had walk way. "Hey, you!" Skywarp yelled at the mech. The mech turned and became face-to-face with Skywarp.

"Talk to me again and I will beat your face in," the mech threaten before grabbing a seat in the back away from them.

**Counterpunch**

**Ultimate ?**

**A brute of a mech, the Decepticons know very little about him except that he likes to destroy any Autobot that comes his way. Best to stay away from lest you want your head punched off.**

"Everyone take a seat," the voice clamored. The group took a look at each other before following the order, seating in different seat away from each other. "Alright, now that's everyone seated, let me introduced you to the other teachers!" the voice said, the wall to the right coming apart showing every Decepticon the other half of the room.

Inside were the Autobots, looking at them.


	4. Prologue: Mingling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment if you can. I like it if you can give me suggestions on how to do better.

The silence between the two sides was deafening as they stared at each other. Yes, they all read the letter that said both sides would be involved, but it was still a surprise to see them after being with their own sides the whole morning. Everyone wondered who was going to say the first word, but no one would speak. There may have been peace between the two sides, but that didn't mean they have to mingle with each other.

"Oh, boy," the voice on the speakers said. "I figure this would happen. Listen up! I want you to mingle. This isn't a suggestion, it's a command. I can't do this properly if you two won't interact with each other! Now, mingle!" the voice ended, getting off again. With that done, both sides went back to staring at each other. Whatever happens next was going to be awkward. Mirage, acting the ambassador he was, stands up and got in the middle of them.

"Okay, now I know that both sides are actively suspicious of the other sides, I'm sure. I don't blame you, but we have to work together. We here because of one person and none of us know who they are, so teamwork is key. Now, each of us take a member of the opposing side and talk to them for a little while, alright?" he asked of them. "Blast Off, we're old buddies from before the war. You want to help me demonstrate to them?" he asked. Blast Off gave a shrug of his shoulders before complying.

"Fine, if it keeps things going. I recommend everyone else does the same if you want to figure out who holds us captive," he said to everyone else, getting up and taking a seat next Mirage. Slowly, everyone got up and got together with another person.

"So, what's your opinion on who's got us captive?" Mirage asked Blast Off.

"I don't know. Whoever he is, he's filthy rich if he can afford all this," Blast Off said, waving his hand around the room.

"Exactly, which limits the suspect pool by quite a bit, but I don't know of many neutrals who could afford all this," Mirage contemplated. "Do you know of any?" he asked.

"No, I don't," Blast Off replied, crossing his arm. The two sat there, Mirage trying to think of something to say. "You're trying to figure out why I join the Decepticons?" Blast Off asked.

"No, well yes," Mirage said nervously. "I never quite got it."

"Well then, let me put it simply. The Decepticons suit me a lot more than the Autobots. Far too stuffy for me," Blast Off answered.

"Is that all?" Mirage asked.

"Yes, it is," Blast Off said, continuing to lean back in his chair.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Ratchet gruffly asked Knock Out, who was mourning his ruined paint job.

"Do you see all of these scratches on me?" Knock Out asked.

"Yes, but I hardly see how it has to do with my question," Ratchet said.

"It's going to take forever to get these out," Knock Out complained. Ratchet rolled his optics at that.

"No, they won't. They look mesh deep, at best," Ratchet tried to soothe.

"Maybe, but for the next while, I'll look imperfect. I'll look like… _you_ ," Knock Out languished.

"Still as vain as ever, I see," Ratchet commented. Knock Out didn't pay any attention to him, still looking at the scratches Wildrider defile him with, muttering comments about how to clean them and how he was going to kill Wildrider. Ratchet gave a groan and leaned back in his seat, letting him suffer in his own vanity.

* * *

"So, do you practice the art of Metallikato as well?" Bludgeon asked Drift, noticing his empty scabbards.

"No, but I do use swords and quite well, may I add," he replied. "I wondered where they went. I came here with them, but when I woke up, they were gone."

"It appears I wasn't the only one who had his weapon confiscated by our warden," Bludgeon mused, rubbing his chin.

"It makes sense. They wouldn't want us wrecking the building with them. I mean, Hound had a giant missile launcher on his shoulder at all times, but it's missing now," Drift pointed out, pointing at Hound.

"Huh, how duplicitous of them," Bludgeon said, thinking it through. "When we get out swords back, we're going to rip this being apart, you understand that?"

"Absolutely," Drift said with a smile.

* * *

"Hmm, Shockwave. Interesting seeing you here," Perceptor said to the big, hulking form looking down at him.

"As it is seeing you, Perceptor," Shockwave agreed.

"I didn't think you would be interested in teaching the future generations. You seem like a very solitary type," Perceptor mentioned.

"I'm doing this as an obligation to Starscream," Shockwave replied. "He gave Soundwave and me orders to make sure Skywarp doesn't do anything to damage the Decepticon reputation while he's here," Shockwave informed him.

"Ah, makes sense. Skywarp has a habit of acting up," Perceptor muttered. "Of course, the academy invited him because of him doing just that."

"Extremely odd."

* * *

"There is something oddly adorable about you two," Wildrider said to Chromedome and Rewind.

"I don't get it," Dead End muttered behind him. "Why would you want to be conjunx enduras in this life?"

"Because we have a special bond," Rewind said, taking a lead of the conversation. "Haven't either of you had a significant other that you felt a close attachment?" he asked them.

"No," Dead End immediately answered. Surprisingly, Wildrider was a little more thoughtful.

"Tell me, does high-explosives count as a significant other?" he asked them. The two stared at him.

"Uh," Rewind mumble, unable to answer that question.

"No," Chromedome muttered behind him.

"Yeah, no," Rewind agreed. "It has to be another Cybertronian," Rewind said.

"What if it was a K-class?" Wildrider asked again. "They're explosives but Cybertronian, right?

"Uh, correct, but it would be a really short relationship if that was true," Rewind replied.

"Short, but, oh, I bet the fragging would be _glorious_ ," Wildrider, drifting off into his imagination. The three of them all looked at him oddly before continuing the conversation without him.

* * *

"Someone's been using syk quite a bit," Nightbeat observed.

"What do you mean?" Mixmaster asked, indignantly.

"You know using syk over an extended amount of time is bad for your help. I've seen more than a few people on the streets that had overdosed on them," Nightbeat continued, unperturbed.

"Keep saying those things and you're going to end up with a rearranged face," Mixmaster said, getting ready to unleash his fist.

"And yet, despite all of your faults, you are extremely good chemist," Nightbeat complimented. "I wonder how you do it with your mind so fogged up all the time."

"I'm the Ultimate Chemist. I can cook in my sleep, much less when I'm using syk. Besides, mostly distribute," Mixmaster defended.

"Ah, so you prey on other people's weakness. How nice," Nightbeat sarcastically said.

"Just when I thought we were past insults…" Mixmaster grumbled.

* * *

"Smokescreen."

"Swindle."

The two glared at each other in a cold silence, waiting for the other to make the first move. Their faces hinted at nothing and their firm stances betray no emotion. This was a stand-off between two equal forces. Finally Swindle made a moved…

He stuck his hand out, with a smirk on his face. "It's good to meet former partners," Swindle said with a trace of satisfaction." Smokescreen raised an eyebrow before smiling and shaking his hand.

"It's good to see an old partner as well," Smokescreen said.

"Why the frag did you join the Autobots?"Swindle asked.

"Because, unlike you, I don't sell myself out to the one who's most likely to win," Smokescreen mocked.

"Oh, you wound me," Swindle said melodramatically, raising the back of his hand to his head in fake hurt.

"Oh, cut it out," Smokescreen said, giving Swindle a smack on the shoulder.

* * *

Onslaught gazed over at Swindle, who was obviously having a good time. He would absolutely love it if the 'bot he was talking to was someone he knew. "Dude, are you okay?" Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, he thought as he lowered his gazed down to Beachcomber.

"I'm fine," Onslaught said, barely containing his rage at being partner with Beachcomber. Why couldn't he be partner up with Bumblebee or Jazz? At least they were important.

"No, you're not fine," Beachcomber accused. Onslaught stared down at the small 'bot.

"And what makes you think that?" Onslaught asked, sounding intrigued.

"It's not that hard. I can tell by the way you glaring at Swindle just a few moments ago, and how you keep flicking your few over to Jazz and Bumblebee. So, why do you not want to talk to me?" Beachcomber asked again.

"You want me to be frank?" Onslaught asked. Beachcomber gave a nod. "It's because you're not useful in the grand scheme of things. Jazz, Bumblebee, Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide… those are the, to use a human term, 'big dogs.' Tell me, how do you stack up when compared to them?" Onslaught bluntly asked. Beachcomber stated at Onslaught, figuring out what he was saying before answering.

"Not very well," Beachcomber admitted, his head hanged in a bit if shame.

"Exactly," Onslaught said, wondering his gaze over to Jazz real quickly as he was conversing with Soundwave.

"I got a question," Beachcomber interrupted his thoughts, making him look down at the 'bot again.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Can you give me any tips?" Onslaught was rather shocked by that question, but thought it through. The war was over and now they had a new enemy to worry about. Along with that, there was a determination in his eye that he didn't see often. It couldn't hurt to instruct someone in how to be good, especially if it's to use against the slagger that put them in here.

"Alright," Onslaught conceded. "Tip number one…"

* * *

"You're telling me you're unable to get any transmission from the outside world?" Jazz asked.

"Confirm," Soundwave affirmed.

"So, they're using jammers that keep us from contacting the outside world," Jazz mused.

"Most likely," Soundwave contributed.

"Most likely? You're hinting that there might be another way they're blocking it," Jazz asked.

"Most likely not. It's probable that the jammer is just more difficult to detect than others. There is no noticeable interference on the line, which indicates that there is no active transmission outside the building or something is blocking it. However, blocking usually has a static that goes along with it. There is nothing right now," Soundwave informed him.

Hmm, that's very odd. Anything else?" Jazz asked.

"Nothing at this time."

"Scrap," Jazz cursed, thinking this through. "What should we do?" Jazz asked.

"It is best to wait until the headmaster comes before we think of what to do," Soundwave suggested.

"Alright," Jazz agreed, putting the subject to the back of his mind for now. "So, why are you here? I doubt you're here just to teach the future generations of Cybertronians," Jazz asked.

"Under orders from Starscream to watch over Skywarp. Wanted to make sure Skywarp didn't do anything to embarrass the Decepticons," Soundwave answered.

"Did he now?" Jazz asked. "Tell me; can Skywarp teleport out of here?" Jazz asked. It was a stupid question, as Jazz figured if he could, he would've been gone by now.

"No. Tried earlier, but ended up running into a wall," Soundwave answered. "It was very loud. Able to hear it from the halls."

"Ouch. Sucks to be him," Jazz said, with a good laugh. "Thanks for telling me that, Sounders. I needed something to cheer me up."

* * *

"You look nervous," Hoist immediately pointed out as Scavenger took a seat next to him.

"Well, when you wake up to find you're trap in a academy with no way out, all your weapons offline, and forced to talk to people who you spent almost 10 million years trying to kill, you're naturally a little nervous," Scavenger defended, looking around the room in paranoia. "I came to talk to you because you look like you won't kill me," Scavenger said.

"Only if you try to kill me," Hoist said simply, looking at the rest of the groups talking.

"Yeah, I figure. Anyway," Scavenger said, "I wonder how everybody's outside right now. You know, trying to find a way to get us out of here."

"I'm sure they're doing fine," Hoist comforted.

"It's just that, I'm sure the others are worried sick about Mixmaster," Scavenger said.

"What about you?"

"I'm sure they don't care about me," Scavenger gloomily said. "I'm not that useful when compared to Mix over there," he said, shrugging his shoulders to his general direction. "I mean, what do I do? I dig. That's about it," Scavenger said. "That and be Hook's medical assistance, but he only needs me to give him stuff," Scavenger recounted.

"Well, you're good enough at scrounging for supplies to be label the Ultimate Scavenger, right. You're not useless," Hoist tried to comfort him. "Look, some people may not have an immediate effect on the war effort, or reconstruction effort, but in the long run, prove to be invaluable due to how long they had been working. I think that describes both me and you, Scavenger," Hoist said. "All I do is repair stuff. Not exactly a very showy job."

"Yeah, I guess you got a point," Scavenger said, looking at Hoist. "You know, when we get out of here, I'll get you a high-grade."

"Fine by me."

* * *

"I forgot how much of a shrimp you are," Skywarp mocked, looking down at Bumblebee.

"Doesn't stop me from kicking your aft half the time," Bumblebee strike backed.

"Hmm, point taken," Skywarp conceded, crossing his arm. "So, oh magnanimous member of the Autobot, why did you decide to waste _my_ time," Skywarp asked. "I mean, look! There are two people all by themselves with no one to talk to sense someone did their math wrong and put 14 Autobots with 16 Decepticons!" Skywarp complained out loud.

"Wait, what?" Bumblebee asked before taking a headcount to make sure. "You're right, the numbers are uneven. Now why is that?" Bumblebee asked.

"What so strange about it? It's not like it's currently helping our situation. It's probably because there are more genuinely talented Decepticons than there are Autobots," Skywarp said.

"That big blue mech sitting by himself in the corner; what's his skill?" Bumblebee asked.

"I don't know. I looked up everybody before we came here and I don't remember him."

"Nor do I remember him," Bumblebee said, before looking at the other con by himself. "And him?" he asked.

"Got in through a lottery," Skywarp said.

"A lottery?"

"Yeah. They randomly choose someone to go and it picked Nautilator," Skywarp explained.

"That's a very odd way of choosing some to teach at the academy," Bumblebee mused.

"Yeah, well, I don't decide how they're picked. I just came here to get away from Starscream," Skywarp explained.

"Things not good between you two?"

"He's no Megatron."

* * *

"Alright, they lump me with a psychopath. Woo," Blurr cheered as he met Vortex.

"Hey," Vortex said with his arms outstretched, "what's wrong with talking to someone who knows how to cut you up into really tiny pieces?" Vortex asked.

"I think that's rhetorical," Blurr said, really wishing he was away from this creep.

"Aw, Blurr baby, don't act like that. If you want, I can make way for some special time with you," Vortex offered. Blurr's spinal strut shuddered at how he said that.

"No thank you. The last time someone gave me special time, I ended up without a hand and a gearbox for a few weeks," Blurr rebutted.

"Aw, you're no fun," Vortex whined. "Can't you at least pretend you're interested?" Vortex asked.

" _NO!_ "

* * *

Brawl and Hound looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say.

"So," Brawl began, "nice color."

"Same to you."

Silence.

"Don't you usually have a missile launcher?"

"I do, but someone took it."

"Ah."

Silence.

"This is an interesting conversation we're having.

"Very."

More awkward silence.

"I'm gonna go."

"Good idea."

* * *

Nautilator took a seat next to Counterpunch. "So, nice weather we're having."

"Say one more sentence to me and I'll make you eat your circuitry."

"Right, lovely conversation. I'll be over there, where's it _safe_."

* * *

Eventually, the couples got together in bigger groups, talking to each other about similar things. The crowd had to begrudgingly admit that some of them were starting to get close. Perceptor and Shockwave were getting in-depth in their science conversation, with Soundwave and Hound joining in. The Combaticons tried to get Onslaught, only to have him shoo them off so he can continue to teach Beachcomber, leaving them to go hang with Chromedome and his group, along with Smokescreen, Drift, and Nautilator. Scavenger and Hoist stuck together, with Blurr coming to join them to get away from the 'psychopathic helicopter.' Jazz, Mirage, Ratchet, and Bumblebee talked to Skywarp, Knockout, and Bludgeon, who were discussing ways out of the facility. Counterpunch ignored everybody, choosing to stay by himself. There was a peace among them.

"Attention teachers!" Until that shrill, obnoxious voice came back. "It seems like you are all bonding with each other, which means it's time for me to make my entrance. Yay!" the voiced said.

"Finally!" Brawl yelled out, cracking his knuckles. "Come out here so I can crush you," he commended.

"Don't worry, I'm coming. Get ready!" the voice said. The group waited in anticipation for the figure to come out. Suddenly the voiced started up again. "Here I come. The great, magnificent Headmaster Monobear!" the voice said, coming out from behind the podium. The anxious and angry looks from everybody soon turned way to confusion at the sight of the Headmaster. The creature looked like a stuffed teddy bear that could only reached to their ankles. His fur was colored white on the left side and black on the other, with a black eye on the left and what looked like a red wound for the right. The response from everybody to this unlikely foe was summarize quite effectively by Skywarp.

"Wat."


	5. Prologue: Exploration

"Is this a joke?" Bumblebee asked, staring at the creature.

"A joke? Of course not!" Monobear answered happily. "Now, before any you start freaking out, let's go over the ground rules in this Academy of Mutual Killing!"

"Mutual killing?" Hoist wondered.

"Okay, first off, welcome students to you new home forever!"

"New home?" Onslaught asked.

"Forever?" Knock Out wondered.

"Students?" Rewind wondered.

"Wait hold on! Were you just confused by me calling you students?" Monobear asked Rewind.

"Uh, yeah. We were invited over by the letter as teachers," Rewind answered. Monobear looked at him oddly before looking behind the podium for something.

"Hold on. Hold on. Ah, found it!" Monobear exclaimed, coming back from the podium. "A sample letter to you bastards that shows that-" the bear paused. "What the heck? It does refer to you as teachers. No matter, I'll just have to change my wording a bit," the teddy said, putting away the letter. "Anyway, any of you going to complain about being here forever?"

"Does it matter? We're just going to blow ourselves a way out of here or the Autobots and Decepticons outside will bust in and rescue us," Drift replied. At that, the bear looked at him oddly, before giving a hardy laugh.

"Autobots and Decepticons… Coming to save you… that's rich!" the bear said, before composing itself. "Anyway, I don't know why you want to leave. You all decided to come here."

"That was before the academy became a prison," Perceptor replied back.

"Dude, this doesn't make sense. We all need to get back home," Beachcomber said.

"Didn't I just tell you that his is your new home?" the bear chastised, before continuing its spiel. "Anyway, there is a way out of here," the bear said, leaving hope in some of the teachers' sparks.

"A way out? Than tell us already before I crush you," Counterpunch threatened, pounding his fists together.

"In order to leave you must graduate! Or whatever the equivalent amongst teachers is. Retirement, maybe?" the bear wondered, scratching its chin. "Meh, I'll just keep graduation."

"Just tell us how to graduate already," Swindle complained.

"Alright, alright. In order to graduate, you must… get away with murder!"

"What!" came a chorus of people at the same time.

"Uh-hun. That's right. Ever better, every single one of you before has killed, which makes things much more interesting," the bear cheered. "Of course, most of those were nameless nobodies you didn't care about. This? You know people and you're going to have to kill them! That a thousand times more exciting than just murdering nameless mooks all day long!" Monobear replied happily. "Oh, the competition is going to be great this year."

"Okay, this stupid," Skywarp said, getting on top of the stage. "Either this is an elaborate prank or you're a moron if you think we're just going to follow you're rules," Skywarp threaten.

"He's doing something stupid," Jazz whisper to Soundwave.

"Very foolish."

"Hey, wait until I'm done explaining everything," the bear ordered.

"No, you listen, you dumb bear," Skywarp threaten, grabbing the bear and bringing the thing to chest level.

"Ah! Rule breaker!" the bear shouted, before suddenly going stiff.

"What the-? Can anybody tell me what happen to the bear?" Skywarp asked, not noticing the ticking coming from it.

"Ticking? Wait…" Nightbeat mused before suddenly realizing. "Scrap, throw it! It's a bomb!" he shouted.

"What?" Skywarp asked.

"Throw it, you idiot!" Vortex yelled. Skywarp looked worried, before quickly throwing it into the air. Not long after, it exploded in mid-air, surprising the teachers.

"Was that bear a K-class? Oh, man, I wished I fragged it," Wildrider complained, causing a couple of people to look at him strangely.

"What's a K-class," the bear asked, coming from behind Skywarp and now at waist height.

"What the-?" Skywarp asked, jumping back.

"Ah, doom bots. I should've known," Shockwave noticed.

"As for you," the bear said, pointing at Skywarp, "consider that a warning." Skywarp nodded dully, heading back to his seat. "Now then, before I leave, I got something to give you," the bear announced and clapped his hands, causing a box to come out of the ground. "In here are your electroID cards. When you turn them on, they display your name, so no excuses for picking the wrong one! In there, among other things, is a list of rules to follow during your stay here. Read those before you decide to do anything. The rest of the rooms in this building will now open. Now, ta-da stu-, uh teachers. Man I wished I was still dealing with students," the bear puffed before disappearing out of sight. Everyone looked at each other, taking in the words that the bear had said. In order to get out, they had to kill each other?

"Alright, everybody," Bumble started, getting on the staged. "We'll discuss what the bear said later. Let's all get one of those electroID cards," Bumble ordered, heading to the box and opening the box. He grabbed it and turned it on. "Hound, this is yours," he said, waiting for the bot to come picked his up. This kept going until everybody got one. Bumblebee, having finally got his, turned his on. Immediately, it showed his named among a white background before showing a table of contents. Bumblebee quickly clicked on the rules section and looked at the rules.

1\. Teacher may never be allowed to leave the academy under any circumstance, except for graduation.

2\. The period between 10pm and 7am (human time, Bumblebee noted) is 'Night Time.' Certain areas will be off-limits in this time frame, some electrical appliances will be offline, and the lights will be on backup power.

3\. Teachers may only sleep in there dormitory apartments and nowhere else.

4\. Available areas of the academy may be explored without limitations. More areas will be explored as time goes on.

5\. Destroying the cameras are against the rules and any perpetrators will be punished.

6\. Violence against the Headmaster, Monobear, is strictly forbidden.

7\. Graduation: In order to leave the island, a teacher must successfully murder one of his or her fellow teachers, and not be found out by the others. Only the teacher who has successfully hidden his or her guilt will be permitted to leave.

7.1 A murder will be announced once three uninvolved teachers have found the body

7.2 The culprit can murder no more than two other teachers

8\. More rules will be added when necessary

"You know," Bumblebee noted, "aside from rule 7, these are all reasonable, or at least what I expected from an academy."

"Yeah, but this academy expects us to murder each other for someone else's sick pleasure," Chromedome reminded him. "Did anybody take rule 7 seriously?" he asked the room. No one answered. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"Listen," Jazz announced. "I say we take the time to explore the rest of the area and see what the bear unlocked. We'll deal with the other buildings when those open up to us," he said to the room.

"I agree. It would be the most logical way to assess the situation," Shockwave agreed. "The electoIDs mentioned that this building has five floors. We should separate into groups of six and investigate them," Shockwave recommended.

"Alright. We got a job to do," Bumblebee said to the group. "Let's get to it.

* * *

"Looks like we found the cafeteria," Hoist said as they entered the room.

"Cool," Jazz said as he looked around the place.

"Could be useful," Onslaught said, looking around the place. He went and entered the room in the back. "Hey, there's a lot of energon here!" he yelled out. Everyone came in to look at it.

"That is a very healthy amount," Knock Out mentioned.

"We could survive on that for at least a few days," Nautilator agreed.

"And it doesn't look contaminated," Drift noticed.

"And it restocks every day!" Monobear shouted from behind them.

"Gah!" Nautilator shouted and jumped back, accidently crashing into the pile of energon. The pile came down, trapping him in it.

"Are you sure he's Ultimate Luck?" Monobear asked.

"What is the reason for your presence?" Onslaught asked, ignoring the floundering Nautilator trying to get out of the pile of energon.

"Just to inform you about the restocking. Having you rationing out would make you least energetic when it comes to making the kill," Monobear explained.

"We won't take part in your games, dude," Drift rebutted.

"So they all say. So they all say," Monobear left off ominously as he disappeared.

"What exactly did he meant by that?" Knock Out asked. Jazz gave an idea.

"I don't think we're the first to play his games."

* * *

"This looks like the dormitory rooms," Bumblebee noticed as they came to an extremely long hallway. The hallway was indeed long, with fifteen doors on each side. He was with Blurr, Hound, Vortex, Brawl, and Scavenger. "Let's see what they look like," he ordered, everyone quickly heading to their designated room that had his name and a small sprite on it. Bumblebee looked and saw that it required his electrode and slid it over the device. The door unlocked and Bumblebee pushed the handle, opening the door.

The room was very nice, Bumblebee decided at an instant. It was a lavishly sized room, incorporating a bed, drawers, shelves, and tables. In the other room, Bumblebee noticed it was a private bathroom, holding a shower and a sink. Could be useful if he wanted to clean his chassis. The window was boarded just like the other windows, a metal plate boarding the windows and there was a camera in the room. Bumblebee searched the rest of the room, looking in the drawers and closet for anything that could help him out. Once he concluded his search and found nothing, he headed back in the hall to see everyone except Vortex waiting there.

"It looks like they want to keeps as well-kept while we're here," Hound noticed.

"Yeah, it actually has a shower. Something to clean myself with," Scavenger gleefully said.

"Don't get too happy. This is just to lower our guard," Blurr warned. "Did anybody else noticed the patterns with the rooms?" he asked them.

"Pattern?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yeah, every room has someone from a different faction either next to them or right across from them," Blurr told them.

"Probably to make us keep our guard up," Brawl replied.

"Yeah, probably, although there was a deviation," Blurr said.

"Who?"

"Counterpunch. That guy is surrounded by Decepticons," Blurr responded.

"Hmm, the mystery about that guy deepens. We don't know his talent and he's surrounded by Decepticons? Has to be suspicious," Bumblebee thought.

"Yeah, might be. Anyway, where's Vortex?" Brawl asked. At that moment, Vortex came out of his room.

"Woo, that was awesome!" he said, stretching his arms.

"What was awesome?" Brawl asked.

"What? You didn't hear?" he asked them.

"Hear what?" Hound asked.

"Weird…" Vortex muttered. "All of you come to my door. I think we just found something useful about these rooms," he said, heading back to his doorway. The others glanced at each other, looking suspicious, before going to the doorway. They arrived to see Vortex preparing for something. "You ready?" The all said yes. "Good," he said, before beginning his thing.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, causing all of them to hold an hand to their audio recepotors. Just as suddenly, he closed the door, silencing his screams. The others looked surprised, looking at each other oddly, before Vortex opened the door, as normal as before. "You guys heard me after I closed the door?" he asked.

"No, thank Primus," Bumblebee responded angrily.

"Ah, good, than that's proof. These rooms are soundproof," Vortex told them, causing everybody to look at each other.

"Soundproof," Hound muttered. "This means…"

"Somebody can murder someone in their room without anybody hearing," Blurr finished.

* * *

"Looks like the art room," Beachcomber said, as the group walked into a room.

"Ah, art. The one thing I always sucked at," Rewind complained.

"I think everybody sucks at it," Chromedome said.

"Oh, Deady. Isn't art your thing?" Wildrider asked him.

"Poetry," he replied.

"I hope some of them speak of warrior's death," Bludgeon remarked.

"Some, yes," he replied. "They talk about a lot of things. Politics, war, death…"

"Practically the things Cybertron was founded on."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Beachcomber ordered. "We're done with that."

"The first two, maybe, but death?" Dead End paused, waiting the for the little blue bot's attention. "Death is a constant."

* * *

"Finally, something good has been discovered," Perceptor said as he entered a room to see a laboratory.

"This whole floors looks to be dedicated to the endeavors of science," Shockwave noticed.

"Which I'm sure pleases you very much," Blast Off murmured from the side.

"It is certainly an improvement of the situation," Shockwave answered, heading to the chemical cabinets. Mixmaster was standing off from the side, observing a selection of chemicals silently while Ratchet and Swindle were in another room by themselves in what appeared to be an infirmary. "With the chemicals here, we could be able to create a way out of here."

"Forgive me for being cynical, but I doubt the bear would just let all this chemicals out in the open if he didn't make sure the walls could withstand whatever you can come up with," Blast Off remarked, standing with his back to the wall with his arm crossed.

"Maybe, but there's one than more way out of any building than with just explosives," Shockwave replied, looking at a bottle of acid in his hand. "We could always melt our way out of here."

"Hmm, maybe."

Meanwhile, Ratchet and Swindle was looking at the tools in the infirmary. "Holy scrap, these are some really good blades," Swindle mentioned.

"How would you know?" Ratchet asked, observing the scalpel.

"You see that scalpel you're holding?" Swindle asked. Ratchet nodded. "That's made out of a synthetic diamond alloys as well as every other blade here. Everything else here made of some of the best stuff available on the market. This set easily reaches into the tens of thousands range," Swindle educated. "There's also a backup set that uses obsidian blades."

"So, if someone was hurt, I could fix them easily," Ratchet replied.

"Of course, that is if you can reach them in time," Swindle replied, leaving it off on a solemn note. Ratchet understood what he implied.

A murderer would make sure someone was dead before they found them.

* * *

"Hmm… this looks interesting," Nightbeat murmured, looking at the sole room that made up the fifth floor. Inside, on the opposite side, was a giant TV. In front of them were several consoles, each with many screens on them.

"A/V room," Soundwave said.

"I imagine you and Rewind will spent a lot of your time here," Smokescreen mentioned off-handily. "You two spent most of your time on these things or filming others."

"I hate it," Counterpunch remarked. "I want to smash them."

"Dude, seriously, you need to calm down," Skywarp mentioned, messing with a console. "All you say is murder this or smash this. You need more unique dialogue than that," he chastised.

"Mocking him is a good way to end up in danger," Mirage warned.

"Relax," Counterpunch said, surprising them. "If I were to murder someone, it would be one of you Autobots, not my own side. I'm not a traitor. I followed Megatron's order to the letter."

"See, you're on the verge of saying something," Skywarp mocked.

"Of course, I can make an exception."

* * *

Afterwards, the groups met up in the cafeteria an hour later to over what they had found on each floor. Jazz's group took the lead, describing the first floor in detail. Besides the cafeteria, there was a gift shop, garbage disposal room, and the classrooms, along with a cargo elevator that went down and a infirmary. The second floor concentrated mostly on the dormitories, not having much else except for another infirmary on that floor as well. The third floor was a lot more art focus, having many rooms built for it as well as a couple of supply closets, a lounge, and another infirmary in it. The fourth was science based, having many labs in it as well as another lounge area in it. The fifth was just the A/V room, having nothing else in it.

"Well, looks like we got a lot to do in this building," Drift mumbled.

"Tell me, did anybody else noticed the closed off doors on their floors?" Jazz asked the group.

"Now that you mentioned it, our floor had two areas closed, each on opposing ends.

"As well as ours," Perceptor mentioned.

"Same," Rewind said.

"Ditto," Skywarp agreed.

"Hmm, it seems there is more to this building that we're excluded from. Perhaps time will provide us a chance to check it out," Drift wondered.

"Like we're going to be here long enough to look at them," Counterpunched countered.

"Good point."

"Anyway, what time is it?" Scavenger asked the group.

"According to the clocks here, which are on Earth time, it's 7:30 P.M. Getting pretty late," Bumblebee answered.

"Well then, let's have some energon and rest for the day," Beachcomber suggested.

"Yeah, I guess that's fine. It's not like anybody took the stupid bear seriously, right?" Drift asked the group.

"Alright. First, since we need to work together, let's push these tables together so we can all sit in one group," Onslaught recommended. "It will help build trust among us."

"Onslaught, I can't you're making us do this again," Swindle sighed, getting a table. Eventually, the group formed a rectangle, featuring ten on two sides and five on the others. Onslaught and Beachcomber grabbed the energon and handed to everybody, who all took a seat together; sitting in-between members of the other side, to make sure the other side could trust each other. The only one who didn't was Counterpunch for numbering reason, who sat in-between Skywarp and Bludgeon.

"Alright," Jazz began, taking after taking a gulp of his energon, "why don't we introduce each other? The war was big, so I doubt we all know each other." The group stared at each other before consenting. "Alright. I'm Jazz, as I'm sure most of you know. Ultimate Audiphile.

"Brawl. Brawler. Shouldn't have been too hard to figure out."

"Mirage, Ultimate Scion."

"Dead End. Poet."

"Bumblebee. Scout."

"Mixmaster. Ultimate Chemist."

"Blurr. Ultimate Racer."

"Skywarp. Ultimate Prankster, baby."

"Counterpunch." He didn't say his talent.

"Bludgeon. Ultimate Metallikato Expert."

"Drift. Ultimate Swordsman."

"Nautilator. Ultimate Luck. Didn't specify which."

"Hoist. Ultimate Repairer."

"Blast Off. Sniper."

"Rewind. Archivist."

"Wildrider. Ultimate Maniac, WOO!"

"Chromedome. Mnemosurgeon."

"Onslaught. Tactician."

"Beachcomber. Geologist.

"Swindle. Merchant."

"Smokescreen. Gambler."

"Knock Out. Fashion Expert."

"Ratchet. Medic."

"Scavenger. I'm, well, Ultimate Scavenger."

"Perceptor. Ultimate Scientist."

"Shockwave. Logician."

"Hound. Preservationist.

"Vortex. Interrogator."

"Nightbeat. Detective."

"Soundwave. Communications Director."

The group memorized each other's name and talent for future reference before heading to different topics. Most of it was about how long before the Autobots get them out of there and about Monobear. The consensus was that they would be here soon and that the bear was really a cover for the real headmaster, whoever they are. Eventually, it went onto too more trivial things, like where everyone was living and how they were helping the Reconstruction effort. None of them went to discuss the killing that the bear wanted them to do to each other, preferring to keep it casual.

No one wanted to think about killing each other. Not yet, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter and the prologue will be over.


	6. Prologue: The End of the Beginning

After dinner, most of the teachers headed up to their room to rest for the day. The only exceptions were Jazz and Onslaught, who took time to clean up the area for their side. "So," Jazz began, hoping to start a conversation, "how long you think we're going to be trapped here?"

"We should've been out earlier today. They know where we went and I know several of us made obligations to contact people on the outside. At the very least, we should be hearing people trying to get us out. Why are we hearing nothing outside?" Onslaught asked.

"Are you still hoping that the Autobots and Decepticons are going to get you out?" Monobear asked suddenly, appearing out of nowhere. The two mechs looked shocked before putting a grim face on.

"They should. Nothing has been going on outside that could cause this," Jazz said.

"But, it like, oh whatever you are said, why haven't they attempted to get you out yet? You think they would care about you. Or maybe they don't care at all about you," the bear taunted.

"I have never been as tempted to crush something before as I am now," Onslaught threaten.

"Ah, ah, ah, remember? No violence against the headmaster unless you want to be punished," the bear reminded.

"I know, otherwise you would be nothing but an impression on the ground right now."

"Oh, you are an eager bunch. I might not have to even do anything before you start killing," the bear cheered.

"Honestly, what is with your obsession with killing?" Jazz asked.

"Killing? I don't care about that. All I care about is one thing: despair," the bear informed him.

"Despair?"

"Yes! And what's more despair inducing than getting the best of the best and cause them to kill each other! You all are the hope of the future generations. How will people react when they start killing each other?" the bear lectured, leaving on an ominous note before disappearing. The two mechs looked at each other.

"That settles it," Onslaught said, "we cannot let that bear win."

* * *

"Thanks for letting me recharge with you," Rewind said to Chromedome as they entered his room.

"No problem. I don't blame you at all," Chromedome replied.

"Yeah. I just don't feel safe sleeping by myself. What if someone breaks in?" Rewind questioned.

"That depends on whether anyone wants to follow rule 7," Chromedome reminded him, closing the door.

"Yes, but let's be honest. Someone is going to want to get out sooner or later and kill someone and I know it's not going to be you, so we'll be safer together," Rewind cynically rebutted.

"Rewind, quit being cynical. That's my job," Chromedome joked, taking seat on the bed and gesturing for Rewind to come next to him. Rewind complied, taking his place next to him.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous," Rewind confessed, "but I don't think all of us are going to make it out of this building alive."

"I know. I feel the same," Chromedome admitted as well.

"I hope Optimus and everyone else can get us out of here and prove us wrong."

"As do I," laying down on the berth and gesturing for Rewind to do the same. He complied, laying next to him. "Rewind," Chromedome began, "as long as I am alive, no one will hurt you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now get some sleep. You're going to need it tomorrow," Chromedome ordered.

"Alright. Good night."

"Good night to you as well."

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Swindle complained as he lay in a chair in one of the lounge room. "Does this bear really expect us to just go and off each other?"

"He seemed pretty adamant about it," Blast Off commented.

"Hmpf, whatever. Not like anybody going to take a little half-pint bear seriously," Smokescreen shrugged it off from the side, taking a drink of low-grade.

"Half-pint!" Monobear complained, appearing right next to Smokescreen. "Who are you calling half-pint!" the bear asked, getting in his face.

"I'm calling you a half-pint," Smokescreen answered, looking him straight in the eye.

"Hmpf, bunch of bastards you are. Insulting their headmaster so openly like that," the bear chastised.

"Maybe if you didn't come off as a complete aft and didn't tell us to kill each other, we might act a little differently to you," Swindle remarked from the side, drawing the ire of the bear.

"Oh, come on, from half-pint, to half-pint, we got to work together. We're both mocked for being short, so let's kill them," the bear coaxed.

"Uh, no," Swindle answered, going back to laying in his chair and ignoring him.

"Alright, how about you big guy?" Monobear asked, heading over to Blast Off.

"Leave," Blast Off ordered.

"Alright, alright sourpusses. You all are no fun," the bear said disappointingly before walking out the door.

"Well, that was fun."

"Agreed."

* * *

"Alright. This should do. Now we got to let this rest for the night," Mixmaster told his fellow scientists as he finished the acid.

"Good. We'll be out of here by tomorrow," Perceptor said happily.

"Are we sure this will work?" Shockwave asked.

"If it's metal, it'll melt," Mixmaster chanted.

"Good. We will test it tomorrow," Shockwave announced.

* * *

Ratchet lay on his bed, thinking about what today did to him and what he could do. As much as Ratchet would love it for Optimus to come and save them, he knew that if they wanted to, they would have already. It was up to them to defeat the headmaster and find a way out of the building. They had to do that while also making sure no one would listen to the bear and kill someone in an attempt to escape. It was a difficult task, but one that he knew they could do if they just keep calm, and not fall for any of the tricks that were laid out for them. Ratchet knew he wouldn't fall for any of them and he hoped no one else was thinking about falling for them.

But, he knew that one of them was already thinking of murder.

"This is an announcement," Monobear said, causing Ratchet to jump from his bed. Did someone already commit murder? "It is now 10 pm." _Oh, thank Primus_ , Ratchet thought as he laid back down. "Please rest peacefully."

"Yeah, right," Ratchet muttered silently as he drifted off into recharge mode.

**End of Prologue**

**Teachers alive: 30**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have reach the end of the prologue. Please comment on how it is so far and the beginning of chapter one should be up soon.


	7. Chapter 1: The Missing Acid

 

**Chapter 1: Welcoming Party for Despair (Begin)**

**(Ab)normal Days**

**_Day 2_ **

"This is an announcement. It is now 7 am. Have a wonderful day."

Ratchet gave a low groan as he onlined his optics. _Looks like what happen last night wasn't a dream,_ he thought to himself as he got out of the berth and out of the room. Blurr was already out, no surprise there. "Hey, Ratch," Blurr said, walking towards his direction. The stairs down were in his direction, of course. "Looks like what happen yesterday wasn't a dream."

"Unfortunately," Ratchet agreed, heading towards the stairs. Blurr quickly caught up and walked at an equal pace with him down the steps.

"Any ideas on who brought us here?" Blurr asked, trying to start a conversation.

"As of yet, no. The only definitive thing we know about them is that they are insanely rich and that's it," Ratchet informed him as they made it to the first floor.

"Not to mention the fact that they are sadists," Blurr interrupted.

"Of course, but that goes without saying. Anybody who subjects people to this is incurably sadistic."

The two kept going in silence until they reached the cafeteria and entered it, revealing no one else in it. The two quickly got a cube of energon and drank it at their place on their table, waiting for more to come. It didn't take long before other early risers entered.

"The early merchant gets the first customer," Swindle answered to his question of why he was up early.

"And my training," Onslaught remind him as he grabbed a cube and sat down. "The others will probably be late with nothing to do."

"Hey, everybody," Drift cheerfully said as he entered.

Counterpunch and Soundwave entered silently and took their seat.

"Woo!" Wildrider yelled as he jumped in. "Another beautiful day in Suck Academy."

"Why did I let you sleep with me last night?" Dead End complained as he went and got his cube.

"Because we're the best of friends," Wildrider answered him. "Thanks for stealing that low-grade out of the lounge. I went out like a protoform." Dead End ignored him and took his seat, Wildrider following. No one else was coming in for awhile so they just talk to each other.

"So, where does everybody live right now," Onslaught asked the table. "Me and Swindle both live in Iacon right now."

"As do I," Ratchet answered.

"Same," Drift answered.

"Wildrider and I live in Ibex," Dead End answered. "Reconstruction is coming along nicely."

"I go from place to place with no permanent residence, although I do spend a lot of my time in Ibex as well," Blurr answered.

"Kaon," Soundwave answered. Counterpunch gave a nod in agreement.

"Hmph, looks like we're all connected with someone," Onslaught murmured.

"I bet the numbers will go as more people get in here," Blurr said.

"What will go up?" The group turned to see Perceptor, Mixmaster and Shockwave entered the room.

"We're talking about where we live and all that stuff," Swindle answered.

"Hmm, well, I live in Iacon and Shockwave lives in Kaon," Perceptor replied to the question.

"I live wherever the Constructicons are needed. We move a lot," Mixmaster answered.

"What I figured," Onslaught said as the three scientist sat down.

"So, what are you three doing today?" Dead End asked them.

"We're testing an acid we cooked up in the science lab today. We hope it will be enough to open the vault of a door," Mixmaster answered.

"It is extremely durable," Shockwave mentioned.

The conversation floated to different mundane topics, letting in some of the more regular teachers.

"We was just wondering around the school a little bit," Hound said, including Mirage and Hoist.

"Nursing a hangover," Smokescreen answered, holding his head.

"I was lazy," Vortex answered.

"I didn't to admit that we were still stuck in this sinkhole," Brawl said.

Blast Off said nothing. Just got his cube and sat with others.

"I slept in just a little late," Jazz answered.

"Me and Rewind were exploring the A/V room a bit before we came here," Chromedome answered as they took a seat.

"I would've been here earlier, but I tripped on the stair on the way here and had to make a quick fix in the infirmary," Nautilator answered.

"I was, uh, doing nothing," Skywarp answered as he came in.

"SKYWARP!" they heard reverberating throughout the building from Bumblebee.

"Like I said, nothing," Skywarp answered taking a seat.

Scavenger entered, looking nervous. "Oh, boy. He looks mad," he muttered as he entered, getting his cube and taking his spot.

At that moment, Bumblebee came in, covered in pink paint. "Skywarp," he growled, marching towards him.

"Hey, Bumblebee, calm down!" Beachcomber called out from behind him, entering.

"It appears Skywarp started his pranking," Nightbeat muttered, striding in behind Beachcomber and stealing a cube.

"Yeah… see you later," Skywarp said before warping out. Bumblebee glared at where he was before stomping out.

"Taking a shower," he said before exiting the cafeteria and passing Bludgeon. He glanced at the pink scout for a second before shaking it off and getting his energon and place.

"What happen to the scout?" he asked the table.

"Skywarp poured some paint on him," Onslaught offered.

"Ah. Well, if the foolish one value's his life, he will stay away from me," Bludgeon threaten.

"Oh, wow! What happen to Bee," Knock Out asked as he entered, looking immaculate.

"Skywarp," Jazz said.

"Oh, suck to be him," Knock Out chuckled before taking a seat at the table. "SO, what's on the agenda today?" he asked them.

"Well, first we got to test out Mixmaster's acid and see if it can take care of the front door," Ratchet started, getting everybody's attention.

"Which I should go check on. Be right back," Mixmaster said, getting up and heading out of the cafeteria to the science department.

"After that, well, if it works we get out."

"And if it doesn't, we're stuck here," Blast Off coolly said, his first words since entering the room.

"Well, what else can we do besides finding a way out? Any entertainment?" Blurr asked.

"Well, I found some low-grade. Not too bad," Smokescreen told him.

"You could always paint and do some digital artwork on the third floor," Chromedome told him.

"I think the lounge area got some instruments up there. We could mess around with them," Swindle mentioned.

"A/V room got some discs. Might have something we can use," Nightbeat told him.

"You could check out the gift shop," Jazz offered.

"Right, so, not much to do," Blurr sighed.

"You want to know how you can get more to do?" Monobear asked as he appeared out of nowhere, taking Skywarp's seat right next to Blurr.

"Uh, that would be nice," Blurr awkwardly said.

"Alright, it's simple. Get somebody to kill someone!" the bear advised.

"Uh, besides that," Blurr rejected.

"Ugh, you guys are no fun. I mean, you're train killers. At least one of you should be dead by now!" the bear chastised.

"Maybe because we all hate you more than each other," Mirage offered.

"Why do you got to insult me like that?" the bear asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you want us to _kill each other_ ," Mirage sarcastically said.

"Well, there's no need for you to be rude about it?" the bear huffed.

"We got a problem!" Mixmaster yelled out, entering the room.

"What?" Onslaught asked, standing up.

"The acid is missing!"

"Oh, that? I took it," the bear mentioned with a shrugged.

"You?"

"Yes. After all, can't have you attempting to escape, can I? Anyway, the acid wouldn't in the first place," the bear informed him.

"Why you little…," Mixmaster growl out, heading over to crush the evil bear.

"Woah, calm down Mixmaster," Jazz said, as him and Onslaught hold him back. "No need to get yourself killed over this," Jazz soothed. Mixmaster silently glared at the bear before relenting taking a seat back at the table as he glared at the bear.

"You know, because I'm such a nice headmaster, I'll give you your acid back with the original amount it had in it when I stole it," the bear offered. "Just don't use it to try and escape or else _I will_ punish you for it," the bear threaten before disappearing. The group silently looked at each other before Jazz announced:

"Alright. Breakfast is over."

* * *

"I'm telling you, it's nothing," Nautilator complained as Ratchet looked at his arm. Nautilator had covered it with a bit of malleable plastic, but opening it revealed that his statement was a complete lie. A piece of metal was sticking out of the wound, greatly exposing it to Ratchet.

"Dammit, Nautilator. This is a far cry from nothing. The strut is sticking out of your arm," Ratchet reprimanded. "You should've come to me immediately about this."

"And have another person think I'm nothing but a giant screw-up? Fat chance," Nautilator shot back.

"Right, do you know this can become infected with technopathogens? If you had just told me about this in worse conditions, I would've had to chop it off," Ratchet told him as he moved in his arm in position. "Now, at the count of five, I'm going to push this strut back into position and reattach it, got it?" he asked him.

"Yeah…" Nautilator said nervously.

"Alright, on your go."

"Okay. One… Tw-AGH!" Nautilator screamed out as Ratchet move the strut back in place. "I thought you said on five!"

"If I did, you would've back out earlier," Ratchet told him before he started reattaching the strut.

"Oh, come on. You think this is the first time this has happened to me?" he asked.

"I imagine not," Ratchet said, not really paying attention as he was fixing his arm.

"I think this like the… twenty-seventh time my arm has been like this. A few times they had to chop it off, but we can always build new one."

"I know. I've got your medical records," Ratchet mentioned off-handily. "I've met a few accident prone people, but never to the extent that you are."

"How do you have my medical records?" the seacon asked, shocked.

"I found them here on the first day. Someone really did there research on us, as they are all accurate," Ratchet told him.

"What? How did they get them?" Nautilator asked.

"Probably bribed a few people. Considering how rich the guy probably is, it isn't too much of a stretch," Ratchet said as he finished reattaching the strut to the joint and was closing the wound.

"That… is impressive, in a really disturbing way," he murmured.

"No kidding. I even found one on _me_ , for Primus's sake." He paused in his work. "I don't remember a file on me," he mused before he continued repairing it and finished. "There. Done. Now," Ratchet said, placing plastic on the closed wound, "keep that on it and your auto-repair systems should finished the rest."

"Thanks," Nautilator said, getting off the bed and heading out of the infirmary.

"Right. Let me check on it every day after until it's completely healed," Ratchet ordered him.

"Alright," Nautilator said with a wave of his hand, leaving Ratchet by himself. Ratchet gave a grumble about an accident prone Seacon before putting his tools in the right place.

* * *

"Someone drinking early," Ratchet remarked as he took a seat next to Smokescreen in the lounge on the fourth floor. Smokescreen was currently downing a cube of low-grade. Across from them on the other side were Blurr, Jazz and Hoist. Jazz was telling Blurr about how to play a bass while Hoist was just an observer.

"Yeah, well, there's nothing here to interest me so I'll just drink out in the open where everybody can see me," Smokescreen said.

"Worry someone's going to put a knife through your back?" Ratchet asked.

"You could say that," Smokescreen muttered. "I doubt anyone on our side is going to kill anyone, so I'm just making sure no Decepticons get too close to me."

"No Decepticons?"

"Well, I speak to Swindle sometime, but I make sure it's in public and I'm sober. Just because I consider him my friend doesn't mean I trust him," Smokescreen informed him.

"Personally, if you're paranoid of everybody, just go in your room and lock the door so no one can get in," Ratchet advised him.

"Come on, Ratchet. I got to talk to some people otherwise I'll go insane."

"Point taken."

"Look, we just rest here for a few days until the nerds figure a way out of here and kick the guy running this right in his aft," Smokescreen told him. "Once that's done, I think I'll take everyone here to the bar and buy them a cube of high-grade. Especially you as you need to loosen up a bit."

"How charitable of you," Ratchet complimented with a bit of gruff in his voice.

"What I'm here for."

* * *

Lunch came and the others got there cube and, instead of all eating together, head to separate areas of the building. Ratchet headed upstairs to see how the scientists were on how they can use the acid without facing any punishments from the headmaster.

"I'm telling you, someone took some of the acid," Mixmaster was saying. Ratchet entered the room to see Perceptor, Mixmaster, and Shockwave looking over the vial of acid. "The vial was almost full when we put it back for the night and a small amount is missing now."

"It does look like there is a little bit less…." Perceptor looked to see Ratchet entered the room. "Hello Ratchet. We may have a problem," Perceptor informed him.

"Problem?"

"We think some of the acid was stolen," Perceptor informed him.

"It is a disturbing thought," Shockwave chimed in.

Ratchet felt his spark sink. Could someone already be planning murder?

"Could Monobear had taken it?" Ratchet asked.

"I doubt it. For all the sadism he has in him, he seems like a stickler for the rules and probably did nothing to the amount of it."

"Which leaves us with just about anybody could've taken it. Anyone could've been up at night and stole it.

"Judging from my estimates, about enough to kill two people are missing from this. We should be more careful around everybody with this knowledge," he advised the group. "We should put a couple guards overwatching the energon."

"And the drinks in the lounges," Ratchet told him.

"Yes, those too," Mixmaster agreed. "We'll alert everybody when dinner comes around. Makes sure everyone is in attendance," he told the room. "We have to make sure everyone is alert about the threat."

"Can we rule anyone out as stealing it? Anyone, even one of us, could've stolen it," Perceptor asked the room.

"Probably Wildrider. This morning, he told us that he drank a lot of low-grade last night and was knocked out pretty early. Probably was in recharge mode before the evening announcement. Dead End can confirm it," Ratchet answered.

"Great. One down, twenty-nine more to go," Mixmaster sardonically replied. "Besides, even if we had no proof he stole it, I would count him out. He's more of a stab-and-shoot kind."

"By that logic, we could eliminate Drift and Bludgeon from the suspect pool. Neither uses anything other than melee weapons and would probably not want the poison."

"Brawl probably didn't take it either. Same reason," Mixmaster hypothesized.

"Alright, so we struck four off the list of possible suspects. We should keep a close eye on every one," Ratchet warned everybody.

"Alright, until dinner, relax and keep your optics on. We don't want anyone dying today," Mixmaster told the room.

* * *

An hour before dinner came, Ratchet was walking down first floor, seeing if anybody was doing anything, and stumbled upon the scientists and Jazz working on a door next to the cargo elevator. "Oh, hey Ratchet. We're trying o get this door opened," Jazz responded to him as Mixmaster successfully melt the internal locking mechanism and opened the door.

"Didn't Monobear said something about this?" Ratchet asked the group.

"Nope!" Monobear said, appearing out of nowhere next to Ratchet. Ratchet gave a silent grumble, already used to the bear sudden appearances.

"Which rule permitted them to get in?"

"Rule four, of course. Well the door was locked, but I was just going to open it after the first murder. It serves no purpose right now," Monobear added.

"What serves no purpose right now?" Ratchet asked.

"Why don't you come and see!" Mixmaster yelled out to him. Ratchet ignored the bear and looked in the door to see a shock.

A working groundbridge.

"A groundbridge?"

"Yep! A working groundbridge, but don't think you can use it to escape. I've specially modified it to only transport students to other active groundbridges inside the school. It's practically useless until you open up more areas of the school," Monobear told them.

"Huh, well, I guess it's better than nothing," Jazz muttered to himself.

"Any-who, bye-bye," the bear said, before disappearing again.

"We really need to put a bear on that damn bear," Ratchet said to them.

"Maybe, but for now, we to get Soundwave," Shockwave told the room.

"He is the most experience when it comes to groundbridges. Perhaps he could manipulate a way out of the building using the groundbridge," Perceptor agreed.

"Right, we'll get him to look at it after dinner. Until then, I guess there's nothing more we can do with it," Jazz said, walking out of the room. The rest followed suit, leaving Ratchet to observe the groundbridge by himself. Ratchet couldn't get rid of the ominous feeling the groundbridge was giving him, but why? Ratchet pushed that thought away and exited the room. It was best to wait until later, when they had learned more about their predicament.

* * *

Dinner came, and Jazz and the scientists made sure everyone stayed to discuss the events of today. The group came in pretty quickly, looking okay. The only one who looked to have problems with each other was Bumblebee and Skywarp, who were glaring at each other. Obviously, Bumblebee hasn't got over the paint incidence yet. Other than that, everybody was friendly enough. At the very least, they all tolerated each other. Still, Ratchet couldn't get rid of the thought that one of them was already planning murder.

Shortly after it started, Mixmaster announced to everyone the missing amount of acid missing when Monobear returned it to him, indicating someone stole some that night. Everyone reacted with varying amounts of surprise and some of the more paranoid ones were already glaring at everybody. Perceptor told the group that they would have to start watching the energon and low-grade in pairs. Onslaught and Beachcomber agreed to watch the energon in the cafeteria, while Swindle and Smokescreen agreed to the third floor lounge and Hoist and Dead End agreed to the fourth floor lounge.

"With that done," Mixmaster said to the group, "we also found a groundbridge in a locked room down by the cargo elevator. We are currently usable to use it to transport us somewhere outside the school, but we figure with Soundwave's help, we can hack it to get us outside the school."

"I will see what I can do," Soundwave answered.

"Good. Now then, was there anything else to mention?" he asked his fellow scientist.

"None at the moment," Shockwave said. Perceptor similarly nodded.

"Alright," Jazz said, "Everybody who has guard duty, let's get to it. Not anything more to say."

"Thank Primus," Skywarp said before warping out of the room. Everyone shared similar sentiments and walked out to do something else or head to their posts.

* * *

"I'm worried," Ratchet heard Blurr said to Smokescreen as he waited around in the third floor lounge. "We've been here for almost two whole days now and I've not heard a single thing outside."

"I know," Smokescreen replied, the low-grade making his emotions come out a bit more. "At the very least, we should've heard Optimus tried to talk in that way too loud voice of his to let us out, but… nothing. Not a peep."

"You think something is going on outside?"

"What do you think?

Ratchet tried to block this conversation out as he settled into his chair. He always trusted Optimus, but there was nothing from the outside world. What could've happen out there?

"Hey," he heard a familiar smooth voice said. He turned his head over to Swindle, who was sitting right next to him. "Are you alright?" he asked, a cocky grin planted right in his face.

"Well, let's see," Ratchet replied quickly, "we're stuck in this Primus-forsaken building with no way out right now, a bear trying to get us to kill each other, and I'm looking into your smug face. Tell me, do you think I'm alright?" Ratchet asked him.

"No, probably not," Swindle replied, looking thoughtful for a second before looking back at Ratchet. "Tell me, what do you think got the big OP and Screamer so occupied that they can't rescue us from this hellhole?" he asked him slyly. Ratchet sighed in anger. He blocked out Blurr and Smokescreen for just this reason and now Swindle was forcing this on him.

"I don't know, maybe they erected defenses," Ratchet said.

"Ratchet, let me tell you, if they did that, we would've been all over this place earlier. It's unthinkable they could smuggle that many weapons under our noses. Trust me on this," Swindle told him.

"So, maybe Megatron is alive again and Optimus is too busy stopping him to help us," Ratchet said quickly.

"If that happen, he would instantly assume that this was all a part of his plan and got us out quickly," Swindle countered.

"Than… than… I don't know. A situation like this has never happen before," Ratchet confessed.

"Exactly, nobody knows. We lack information, which is very odd don't you think?" Swindle asked him. Ratchet looked at him oddly.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, just two days ago, we were all outside, getting ready to visit this school. No prophecy or signals from somewhere to indicate something is wrong. So, why the sudden lack of information. The lack of anything outside happening. Why is that happening?" Swindle questioned, his smile fading.

"Because… we're missing something," Ratchet said.

"Exactly, the question is what? What are we missing?" Swindle asked him. "Nothing was going on and then it just seemed like the world just went and died again overnight. Why is that?" Swindle finished before speaking again. "You should probably go rest. It's almost time for the evening announcement," Swindle told him.

"It is?" Ratchet asked, looking at the clocks. It was 9:30 PM.

"Getting late. Me and Smokescreen will stay until midnight. After that, we'll head off to recharge."

"Wait, a question of my own," ratchet told him. Swindle smiled again.

"I'm all ears."

"What do you think happen outside?" Swindle's smile deaden.

"I don't know," he answered, heading to where Blurr and Smokescreen were. "If you want to talk to somebody else who's really interested, talk to Dead End. He's been speaking metaphorically a lot about it. Could know something," he said over his shoulder, leaving Ratchet by himself. Ratchet contemplated the surprisingly thoughtful conversation with Swindle before heading out of the room, looking to find Dead End.

* * *

"This is an announcement. It is now 10 PM. Please rest peacefully."

Ratchet opened the door to his room as some of the lights turned off in the hallway. He couldn't find Dead End anywhere in the available area, so he assumed that he went to his room. He was about to knock and see if he would let him in until he remember that Wildrider was probably still in the room and Ratchet would _not_ tolerate maniacs. He headed to his room and got in his bed, ready to recharge. Ratchet didn't quite know what tomorrow had in stored for him, but he knew he was getting Dead End y himself to talk with. Any new information with what going on outside would be invaluable in this situation. As Ratchet headed off to sleep, he could think of only one thing.

What could Dead End know?


	8. Chapter 1: Screen Scenarios

_Day 3_

"Wakey, wakey, Deady," Dead End barely heard as he felt Wildrider shaking him.

"What?" He mumbled, onlining his optic to see his grinning face.

"It's 6:30. I want to beat everyone else to the cafeteria today," Wildrider told him. Dead End had to give him credit; he took being trapped in a school by a psychotic bear in stride.

"May I ask what's the point of that? It's not even open yet," he asked.

"Yeah, but it will be in thirty minutes. If we get there before them, we can rub it in their faces that we beat them."

"You're sounding like Dragstrip."

"Yeah, well, I kinda missed his 'always beat everyone' attitude. Come on, we're Stunticons. The least we can do is act like the rest of them are here," he tried to convince him.

"So, you want us to beat everyone, like Dragstrip, be paranoid of everyone, like Breakdown, and be angry at everyone, like Motormaster," Dead End said.

"Exactly! Well, except Motormaster. Dude's a grade-A Slagger," Wildrider told him. Dead End gave a groaned before standing up.

"Might as well go today. You already woke me from my slumber and the psychotic bear will make the morning announcement soon," Dead End conceded, standing up and heading to the shower. "Let me make sure I'm clean first."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Dead End and Wildrider were right in front of the cafeteria, waiting for the doors to be unlocked. The doors were locked and no one could get in, leaving the two Stunticons to think of a way to entertain themselves. "So," Dead End began, "who do you think is going to break first?"

"Eh, I don't know, but I'm sure a lot of people are betting their shanix on me," Wildrider answered.

"Yes, being labeled the Ultimate Manic is sure to get a lot of people to think you will be the first to kill," Dead End conceded.

"Yeah, problem with that. _I'm already cracked_ ," Wildrider whispered the last part to Dead End. "I'm already crazy, which makes me one of the saner person in here."

"I don't understand that logic."

"Think about it. This game is design to get sane, logical people to become insane and kill each other. I'm already crazy, so the inverse should happen. I get saner as the game goes along," Wildrider told him. Dead End couldn't understand the logic in any of that.

"Are you - oh, what's that human term – trolling me," Dead End asked.

"Uh, no. Duh," Wildrider chastised, waving his finger like a disappointed parent. "You think I would tell blatant lies like that?"

"Yes."

"Oh, well, anyway, another thing that should get you to trust me is that I absolutely suck at murdering people quietly. I don't do things with subtly," Wildrider told him. "I would be, without a doubt, one of the worst at murdering people without anyone figure it out."

"Now that is true," Dead End agreed. "So, how do I rank in your little list of potential killers?" Dead End asked.

"Eh, somewhere down at the bottom. I don't think you have enough motivation to kill anyone. Way to fatalistic to actually murder someone to get out of a life and death situation," Wildrider told him.

"Hmm, that's sounds reasonable, although whether that holds up or not, will wait and see," Dead End trailed off ominously.

"Oh, come on, Deady. You're not seriously planning to kill anyone… right?" he asked.

"Hmm, no, but I have a very good idea of who's going to commit the first murder if there is one," Dead End said.

"Wait, you do? Who?"

"You think I'm just going to tell you?" Dead End chastised.

"No, but, can I make a guess?" Wildrider asked. Dead End thought it over for a second before replying.

"One."

"Shockwave?"

"No."

"Dammit!" Wildrider cursed, kicking the cafeteria doors. "I thought for sure that would be correct. He's first on mine."

"I admit, he does make a reasonable choice for first murderer, but I'm positive it won't be him," Dead End replied. Wildrider glared at him.

"How do you know the guy who's going to commit the first murder?" Wildrider asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just heard a few things. You won't believe what people will say, thinking no one's around," Dead End said.

"What do you-"

"You two are up early," someone mentioned off from the side. The two turned to see Ratchet coming down the steps. "Looks like I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep well," Ratchet noticed.

"I slept well," Dead End told him. "Wildrider over here, for some reason, insisted on getting up early and waking me up as well."

"Oh, yeah. You two sleep in the same room, right?" Ratchet asked.

"You would be correct. Now, what were you losing sleep over?" Dead End asked.

"Actually, it involved you. You think we can talk together right now," he said, glaring at Wildrider, "alone."

"Why? So you can kill him?" Wildrider asked.

"No, of course not!" Ratchet yelled, trying to explain to them. "I only what to talk to him. Swindle said something about him and Dead End having a conversation that interests me," he explained.

"And what was it about?" Dead End asked.

"About what's going on outside," Ratchet asked.

"Ah, well then. You can talk to both me and Wildrider about it. We spent some time talking about it," he comforted him.

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly.

"Hey, I got a CPU too, bub," Wildrider snarled.

"Alright, alright. Anyway," Ratchet said, trying to start off the conversation, "I've been trying to figure out what's going on outside. Swindle said you two having been talking a bit about it so I thought I came for any answers you would provide," Ratchet told them.

"Is that so?" Dead End mused, putting a finger to his chest. "Well, me and Wildrider have been talking quite a lot about the state of the outside world, mainly because this a is very familiar felling to us," Dead End confided.

"It is. You see, sometime during the war, after Cybertron died for the first time, the Stunticons were sent to look for any supplies from the ruins of cities," Dead End told him.

"Yeah, it was all spooky and stuff, you know?" Wildrider butted in.

"Anyway," Dead End continued, "everyday, it was the five of us, staying in large buildings with no one around us. Not a single sound from the outside world except us, and we didn't get along very well. Luckily, this didn't required very much contact with each other, so we just headed off by ourselves. I took a room farther away from everyone else and just wrote some stuff using whatever I could fine. Decepticons didn't really favored writing utensils."

"Or anything, really."

"Every night, I just sit and listened to the nothingness from the outside world. The cold, stark feeling came to all of us. The fact that the world we know was dead, because of our own actions. Waging war until the planet couldn't sustain us anymore. It left Cybertron… hollowed."

"Also, really not good for your olfactory systems," Wildrider chimed in.

"That same feeling that was in us when we were alone on Cybertron is the same feeling I'm getting right now. I can't help but think that the world we knew died again overnight and none of us noticed," Dead End finished. "So, was our explanation acceptable?" Dead End asked.

"That's… that's… that makes no sense. We were knock out for a day. The world doesn't just die overnight."

"Well, maybe I'm exaggerating, but, at the very least, I say that Optimus and his ilk evacuated Iacon for some reason. It's the only reason to explain the silence from outside."

"But, why?" Ratchet asked.

"Maybe we'll figured that out when more of the building become unlocked to us."

"This is an announcement. It is now 7 am. Have a wonderful day," the announcement chimed in.

"Now then," Dead End said, opening the door to the cafeteria, "shall we refuel?"

* * *

Breakfast went by without a hitch. Everyone turned up without any mishaps and the conversation was kept on the lighter side of things, with them talking about the more crazier and wackier side of the war, the most talked about one being when Wildrider set himself on fire for some reason. He claimed it looked like a good idea at the time, to the confusion of everyone else. Once breakfast with over, everyone left, leaving Jazz and Counterpunch to guard the energon.

Afterwards, Dead End and Wildrider headed to the 3rd floor and entered a barren room filled with no one. "Alright Deady, why did you dragged us up here?" Wildrider asked.

"What does anyone go to the art section for?" Dead End asked, getting a pad and starting to type in it.

"Ugh, seriously?" Wildrider asked.

"If you want, you can take one of the small rooms, covered it with white paper and just throw paint everywhere," Dead End suggested. Wildrider's blue optics brighten, literally.

"Oh. That's a great idea! Why didn't think I of that?" Wildrider mused, before grabbing a large roll of paper and several buckets of paint and making off with it. Dead End enjoyed the quiet for all of ten seconds before Hound came in and ruined it.

"Uh, why was Wildrider laughing manically and holding of that stuff?" he asked, a bit afraid.

"He is going to throw colors all around a room," Dead End answered.

"Oh, well, if you don't mine, I'll hang with you and do some drawing," he said, grabbing one of the digital sketchpad.

"Of what, may I asked?" Dead End asked.

"I don't know, maybe a flower from Earth," Hound said as he turned the sketchpad on and took a seat.

"Using a digital tool to draw something that naturally occurs. Isn't that oxymoronic?" Dead End asked.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe," Hound said as he started drawing. "I don't know any fancy art terms."

"It's mostly used as a figure of speech, but I figure it could count in this case," Dead End mentioned as he continued writing.

"Ah, nice to know," Hound said, and the two stayed quiet for a little while before Hound started talking again. "Hey, is this alright?" he asked again, showing Dead End his drawing of a flower. It was drawn alright, but that was nothing considering the sketchpad automatically straighten lines for you if you want and the auto-fill feature makes it easy to color. The flower had a yellow stem while the pedals had an aqua and azure pattern, which, Dead End admitted, was very appealing. The background was a simple black one with yellow sparks of light. "It's not a real flower, at least I don't think so. Never seen one like it before, but it looks appealing to me."

"While the actually skill involved is minimal, I do admit you have a redeeming sense of style," Dead End told him. "It would be impressive if you could replicate that on a regular sketchpad."

"Yeah, well, that isn't happening," Hound admitted. "How's your poem going?" he asked.

"Hmm, that is hard to tell. The situation we're in is hindering my writing ability, it seems. I'm having trouble figuring out what words to evoke the right emotions," Dead End confided.

"Don't you just write words and make people cry?" Hound asked.

"Didn't you just listen to the last sentence? I need to find the right words to inflict the right emotions. The words I'm using seem to be too… vague for it to be effective."

"Oh, well, can't vague be effective?"

"If I want to change the context of the poem, yes," Dead End said, thinking it through. "Perhaps I can do that." Before Dead End could think the rest of it through, Wildrider came in with paint of different colors.

"Deady! Look what I made," he yelled, before glancing over at Hound. "I have no idea who you are, but come look at it as well!"

"Uh, what?" Hound stumbled before Wildrider ran over and hauled him over his shoulder out of the room and ran out. Dead End stared dumbly at what just happen before heading out of the room towards where Wildrider took Hound. It wasn't hard tracking him down; he just had to follow the paint stains that he left towards a room. He opened it to quite a sight.

The walls were painted a multitude a colors, looking like one big, big swirling mess that you had to be high to understand. Wildrider was on top of Hound, talking in a calm tone about what each wall meant, indirectly transferring paint onto Hound's body. "This represents the inner feelings of my soul, looking for another explosion to cause," Wildrider said, pointing his finger to the wall on the right that was painted in primarily warm colors.

"Wildrider, are you done manhandling him?" Dead End asked.

"Deady! How's my work of art?" Wildrider asked him, waving his hand around the room in a magnificent gesture.

"It's uh… special," Dead End told him. "So, can you let him go?" Dead End asked. Wildrider glanced between him and Hound for a second before relenting, getting off him.

"Eh, I guess. I gave him a detail looked at my, how do you pronounce it… a _mural_ ," Wildrider said, getting off Hound. Hound immediately got up and ran out of the room, yelling a quick word of thanks to Dead End before disappearing from view. Dead End glared darkly at Wildrider before speaking.

"Was that really necessary?" Dead End asked.

"Uh, yeah. I thought so," Wildrider told him. Dead End gave a groan before speaking again.

"It's almost time for lunch. Clean up a bit and we'll repaint you after lunch," he told him.

"You got it."

* * *

After 30 minutes of attempting to make Wildrider look at least presentable and giving a quick once-over with Wildrider body that still left several discoloration marks visible and accidentally getting some on Dead End, they appeared in the lunch room last. Everyone was already sitting at the table, drinking and talking. They had glanced at the two late arrivals before continuing with their conversation unperturbed. The two Stunticons took a seat at the table and inserted themselves in the conversations whenever asked.

Once lunch was over an hour later, everyone went off to do their own thing, with Dead End dragging Wildrider roughly by the arm to the art room to reapply paint onto their armor and Hound and Vortex to look over the energon. An hour-and-a-half later, they looked sparkling new, Dead End remarking that they actually looked "presentable" again. With that done, the duo headed up to the floor above them and went into the lounge.

Inside, they could see Mirage and Jazz watching over the low-grade while Vortex, Brawl, and Hoist just lounging around. The two took a seat next to the two Combaticons in the room, who were in the middle of a conversation.

"I'm telling you, Megatron would destroy him!" Brawl yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"And I'm telling you, Overlord would rip him apart!" Vortex replied back.

"Do I even want to know?" Dead End asked as he and Wildrider took a seat.

"We're debating over whether Overlord or Megatron would win in a one-on-one fight. No weapons or anything like that; just grisly hand-to-hand combat," Brawl answered for them.

"And I'm telling you, Overlord would rock the scrap out of Megatron. Without that laser cannon that's practically imbedded to his arm, he's would fall quickly to Overlord indestructibleness," Vortex told him.

"But Megatron has far superior wits than Overload and would think of a way to take him down," Brawl shot back.

"What's your opinion?" Vortex asked. Dead End thought it over.

"I guess it would have to do with the environment. If there was stuff that Megatron could take advantage of, then he would when. If not, than Overlord would win," Dead End answered. "So, it would be a tie."

"Ugh, what an anticlimax that would be," Wildrider bemoaned.

"This is an announcement," they heard the voice pronounce over the intercom which bewildered some of the people involved, considering it was nowhere near nighttime, "we have a special event scheduled for the A/V room. Attendance is mandatory. If you do not come, you will be punished," Monobear said, before getting off.

"What do you think that was about?" Hoist asked the room.

"I've no idea," Dead End said, "but we better make out way there," he said, and the seven of them left the lounge and head to the A/V room. Inside they found a few people already there. Minutes later, everybody filed in, leaving the room kind of cramp.

"Okay, so why did the stupid bear asked us to come up here?" Counterpunch asked the room.

"To give you a gift!" the stupid bear reply, coming out of thin air again and holding a stack of discs. "Everyone, take the one with your name on it and watch it," the bear ordered. Everyone glanced at each other before they took one at a time and took a seat by a screen. Dead End was one of the last and put his disc in the computer and placed the headphones nearby over his head to listen.

Inside, he saw something most peculiar: footage of himself leaving the Ibex poet club. It was a place that had been rebuild after the war had ended. "Here you see Dead End leaving his favorite place in all of Cybertron, a poetry club that he had a hand in rebuilding." It made Dead End kind of happy to see something like this, which instantly caused him to worry. Something bad was about to happen and it was proven true when the footage turned to static and cleared up again, the place was a broken down wreck. Walls were cracked and holes were made, and Dead End could see that a part of the landscape was burning now. "Oh no, whatever happen to his place. If Dead End wants to find out, he will have to get out of here and there is only one way to do that," the bear left off ominously and the video ended, leaving Dead End last sight of his broken down place embedded in his databanks.

He turned to see everybody in varyingly looks of shock. Some, like Shockwave, Soundwave, Jazz, Onslaught, Ratchet, and Hoist, looked calm and were in the mist of calming everyone else down. Others, like Scavenger, Hound, Blurr, and Swindle, were freaking out and needed to be calmed down by the others. At the end, when everybody had calmed down to a reasonable amount, had been speaking of what exactly what they saw.

"What was that?" Scavenger had started out, holding his head in worriment.

"I don't know," Jazz murmured. "Could that have been faked?"

"It had to be!" Hound yelled out, obviously affected by the video. "Something like that happening is… impossible."

"How did they even get that footage of us?" Mirage asked. "That… should be _impossible_."

"It looked like they have been keeping a eye on us for far longer than we imagine," Ratchet told them.

The conversation went on like that for a short while longer before Jazz noticed that Monobear was still there, shining his smile in a toothy grin."You!" Jazz yelled at the chromatic bear. "What was the meaning of those videos?" Jazz asked.

"Oh, well, it's been three days and I've grown bored, so I've decide to hand you your first motive!" the bear told them, his smile leaving his face.

"Motive?" Rewind asked.

"Yes, a motive. Something to help move the process along faster. Oh, I bet one of you is planning something right now," the bear chanted excitedly. "Now then, since you've got what you required, I'll be off. Happy killings," the bear taunted before disappearing again. The others were looking at each other, wondering whether or not what they were shown was true. Something they had all loved… destroyed over a couple of day? That was impossible, but the video seemed so real…

"Alright everybody," Jazz began, "it's almost dinnertime. Let's head on down there and just forget about what we saw. They had to be fake." The others looked at each other, but silently agreed and headed downstairs to the cafeteria.

* * *

Half an hour later, they had all calmed down and were discussing what to do. They had all agreed to keep even better watch of the energon and low-grade than before and everyone agreed to be with at least three people in any situation or alone in their rooms. Another half-hour later, dinner was over and they had left. Dead End headed straight up the stairs to the second floor and towards his room, Wildrider right behind him. He opened it and both of them stepped in.

"Man, that ruined my whole prediction on who is going to killed first. Now any of them could be the first to kill," Wildrider complained.

"Hmm, maybe, my number one guess is still a viable killer," Dead End replied.

"Deady, come on. If you know who's going to kill, tell everybody about it. You could potentially stop a murder," Wildrider told him.

"Really, now. Are you extolling the virtues of cooperation?" Dead End asked.

"Uh, maybe, I don't know," Wildrider agreed.

"Wildrider, listened. It's kill or be killed right now. A murder is going to happen. Not telling anybody insures the one I suspects to do it, does it, and I can make sure he doesn't get away from it. If we stop it now, we're going to go in the actual first murder blind," Dead End told him.

"Dead End." He was using full name now. Very serious. "You're not talking sense."

"What I'm saying is I know who is going to die in two days' time and who the killer is. If we prevent it, than we will have significantly less chances of solving the real first murder."

"What is that supposed to mean and how do you know?" Wildrider asked.

"Look I know everything except the _how._ If we can figure it out tomorrow, than we can convince everybody about the person's guilt when the time comes," Dead End pleaded with him.

"But who is going to murder tomorrow?" Wildrider asked

Dead End stared blankly before, thinking it through before laying back down in his bed. "Go to sleep, Wildrider. While I'm sure I know someone's going to murder in two days, I don't know if a murder is going to happen tomorrow. This motive video complicates things. If nothing happens tomorrow, I'll tell you. If a murder does happen, I won't. Good night," Dead End said as he went to sleep. Wildrider looked at him uncertainly before heading out the door, trying to think of what Dead End told him meant.


	9. Chapter 1: Party Time

_Day 4_

 Breakfast arrived the next morning without death and everyone seemed able to talk, if slightly tensed still over the videos last night. Nobody wanted to talk about the videos for fear of getting everyone hopes down. For now, everybody tried to kept it on casual topics, but they were running out of things to talk about. Talking serious about the war would just open old wounds and it didn't have many humorous moments either. Boredom was settling in.

Once breakfast was over, small groups set off to separate areas, Vortex and Drift staying behind to cover the energon in there. Hoist and Soundwave went off to the groundbridge in the hopes of using it to get out of the academy, Soundwave doing most of the work on the groundbridge due to his extreme familiarity with the device, leaving Hoist to work on the control panel controlling it. "Currently reattaching the wires from the spacebridge to the control panel," Hoist told Soundwave as he attached the wires, a few hours into the repairs. "How's the groundbridge coming along?"

"Going well," Soundwave answered in Shockwave's voice as he stood back from the bridge and looked at it. "if I'm correct, everything is in place and only the control panel is needed to work it."

"Alright. Just let me place this back," Hoist replied as he put the panel back in place. "Okay. Do it." Soundwave did immediately, inputting a location inside the building and pressed a button, making the bridge come alive and bathe the room in a green light.

"It turns on, now to see if it works," Soundwave said, entering the bridge and leaving Hoist by himself. 10 seconds later, the bridge turned off automatically. Hoist went and turned the thing back on, keeping it on. Hoist waited for roughly a minute before Soundwave came back in and Hoist took his hand off the button, leaving the spacebridge to turn off by himself.

"Looks like it works just fine," Hoist noticed.

"Yes and it's almost time for lunch. We should leave," Soundwave told him.

"Go on ahead. There are a couple of things here that will take me a minute to do. Don't let me keep you up," Hoist told him, heading to the back of the panel again and removed it.

"As you wished," Soundwave agreed, walking out of the room. Hoist took off the panel and quickly inserted a RAM, ROM, and memory drive on it and closed the panel shut and headed out of the room.

* * *

25 minutes into lunch and the majority of the people had already left, leaving the few dredges of people behind: Shockwave, Soundwave, Hoist, Perceptor, and Ratchet. Everyone else was heading for separate areas to prepare for later. A small party was going to be initiated after dinner today. The idea was co-opted by Swindle and Smokescreen, who reason that the group needed a moral boost. The group consented, on the grounds that no low-grade or anything like that would be used, as overloaded robots was the perfect timing to let a murder go unnoticed. The two relented and got the place set up for it, with the help from some others, leaving the rest to do whatever.

The five left behind agreed that they wouldn't be going to the party and would just spend the day by themselves. They were currently just idling chatting with each other. "So, what's with up with the injector?" Ratchet asked, nodding his head to the device in front of Shockwave.

"Since I have no orifice in which to ingest the energon, I have to inject it with this," Shockwave answered. "I always inject in fifteen minute intervals for a quarter of the injector," Shockwave answered.

"Oh, yes, you did had that most deplorable punishment, am I correct? Empurta?" Perceptor questioned.

"Indeed, I did. It's something that I resented, but have grown to appreciate for making me what I am now."

"Doesn't explain where the giant arm cannon come from," Hoist mentioned.

"It was simply an attachment that I decided to add after losing it to the gaping maw of Grimlock," Shockwave answered.

"It was a painful procedure, if medical records are correct," Soundwave said, in Thundercracker's voice.

"Who was it that added it?" Ratchet asked.

"Knock Out, correct?" Soundwave asked Shockwave.

"That would be correct," Shockwave agreed.

"Hmph, makes sense. I may fight with him a lot, but he almost as good a medic as me. _Almost_ ," Ratchet consented.

"Where did the gun come from?" Hoist wondered.

"Do I really need to answer that?" Shockwave asked.

"Swindle," Hoist answered his owned question. "Don't know why I even asked that."

"I have no logical answer for that," Shockwave replied, injecting himself with another quarter of the energon, leaving half left. "If you excuse me, I need to head back to the lab," Shockwave told them, getting up, grabbing the injector, and heading out of the room.

"Wait for me," Perceptor said, heading up to the lab, leaving the three by themselves.

"Well then, looks like lunch is officially over," Hoist muttered. "Hey Soundwave, since we're done with the groundbridge for now, you want to take watch over the energon?" Hoist asked him.

"I will," Soundwave agreed.

"Alright, so, I'll go do, something," Ratchet said, heading out of the room.

* * *

"Alright, so we got the poker table over here," Smokescreen said at one of the corners of the lounge. "Can easily fit nine players and a dealer."

"Got the pool table over here," Swindle told him, adjusting the table. "The guy took a lot of cues from human culture."

"Tell me about it," Smokescreen agreed, looking over at place. "Although, I guess it isn't too bad. Humans have got quite a few entertaining gambling games. I've seen a few of them around Cybertron and played a few of them," Smokescreen mentioned.

"Makes sense. I mean, we've been maintaining good relations with humans. Makes sense a few of them would get imported over here."

"Right," Smokescreen muttered as Swindle inspected the table before granting it a seal of approval. "Hey, Swindle?"

"What."

"Do you think anybody is actually going to murder anybody?" he asked. Swindle thought that through before answering.

"I'd say probably," he answered, causing a grimace to form on Smokescreen's face. "Hey, don't give me that look! I'm just stating my opinion. I could be wrong, you know," Swindle told him.

"Yeah, I know, but you're probably right," Smokescreen said, looking stressed. "Best we can do is wait until Optimus rescues us and hope no one dies."

"Do you honestly still think Optimus is still capable of saving us?" Swindle asked.

"Hey, doesn't hurt to hope," he told him.

"Yeah, you try saying that when the first murder happens," Swindle mocked, before heading to the bar and getting himself some low-grade.

"Hey, no low-grade. Remember?"

"They said none during the party. Didn't say anything about _before_ ," Swindle reminded him before talking a gulp.

"Aren't you afraid someone is going to murder you if you get overloaded?" Smokescreen asked.

"Maybe, but I got a 1 in 29 chance of being murder, so I won't worry too much," Swindle told him.

"You realize you will increase your chances of dying by a lot if you drink anything," Smokescreen reminded him. "Also, you are a light-weight." Swindle glanced at him a second with a cube in his hand before shrugging him off and downing some. "You just sealed your fate," Smokescreen snarked which was responded by Swindle's middle finger.

* * *

"Exactly why are you going to the party?" Wildrider asked Dead End as he was buffing himself in preparation for the party.

"To see if I can prevent any murder. Why else would I go?" Dead End told him. "Lots of drinks going around, plenty of people trying to relax and not think of the killer slipping them some acid in their drink. The killer could move their plan ahead of time in order to take advantage of the opportunity," Dead End told him simply. "I'm sure I'm not the only one with that thought in mind. I'm sure Nightbeat will be watching the whole thing from the corner of a room by himself. While he's doing that, we'll try and socialize with the rest."

"Are you capable of socializing with people without freaking them out with all your death talk?" Wildrider asked.

"Probably not, but it's worth a shot."

"Can you at least tell me who killer is supposed to be?" Wildrider asked.

"I guess I can," Dead End conceded. "The killer is..."

* * *

Nightbeat walked in the third floor lounge to see Swindle blubbering sadly to himself on the bar while Smokescreen was busy making the final touches. "What's up with Swindle?" Nightbeat asked as he entered.

"Uh, yeah, he decided to exploit a loophole in your rule and drink some low-grade before the party started," Smokescreen answered.

"Dammit, really?" he asked and Smokescreen gave a shake of confirmation. "How many?" Smokescreen raised a single finger. " _One_? Seriously?"

"Yeah, he's quite a lightweight," Smokescreen replied, turning to Swindle. "Isn't that right, Swindle?"

"Yeah, you're right, which makes sense. I'm nothing but a criminal who takes advantage of people's weaknesses. I'm so disgusting, so I deserve this," Swindle gloomily replied.

"Yeah, another thing. He's not a happy drunk, but a sad one."

"A-another thing. Everybody is just going out and selling themselves out these days. They just go out there and sell their bodies like they are a fresh batch of high-grade to a bunch of wreckers. It's so depressing."

"Wow. I thought it was impossible to out-depress Dead End," Nightbeat replied, his optics widening at the revelation. "I owe him an apology."

"Yeah, well, it looks like we're ready for the party and I might let Swindle turned in early for the day," he said, glancing at Swindle, who was tilting his cube over to see if anything was left.

"Nothing left, just like this life," Swindle murmured, looking for another cube.

"If that is a look into Swindle inner psyche, I don't want to see anything else," Nightbeat said. "I'll get him to my room."

"Why you're room?" Smokescreen asked.

"Because, you're going to tell everybody that he's in his room for tonight at dinner. That way, any killers wishing to take advantage of an overloaded Swindle doesn't know where he is."

* * *

"I'm worried," Chromedome said as he and Rewind hung around his room.

"Why?" Rewind asked.

"I got a bad feeling that a bad thing will be happening in the party," Chromedome told him.

"That's just your nerves talking," Rewind told him. "I'm sure we'll just go there, have a good time, and no one will be murder at the party."

"Yeah, maybe. Still, I think we should play it safe and stay in our rooms," Chromedome suggested.

"Chromey, it's a large amount of people in one area. Everyone will be watching each other and no one will dare make a murder," Rewind told him.

"Yeah, I guess you make a point," Chromedome agreed.

"Plus, I will be as paranoid as the pits at the party and will make sure I'm easily seen at all times and every cube of energon I drink will be easily seen," Rewind comforted.

Chromedome thought it over before saying, "I guess that can work out."

"Great, I know no one will be murder at the party."

* * *

Nightbeat quickly slide his electroID down his door, unlocking it. He quickly opened the door, and let him and Swindle in. "You know what I did before I... became an arms dealer," Swindle slurred as Nightbeat supported him in.

"What?" Nightbeat asked. Swindle had been saying depressing stuff during the whole way down, making Nightbeat slightly question his fate in life.

"I used to be an arsonist," he told him as the door closed behind them.

"What?!" Nightbeat asked loudly.

"Yeah, see, the Iacon Fire Department was not having enough calls to fit their budget, so they needed a little help. So they hired me to set fires in abandoned buildings to increased calls. More fires means the budget stays good and I got paid pretty nicely for it. I know a lot about fires now," Swindle told him. He slightly giggled to himself, which was odd, considering his current behavior. "One time, I made a mistake. I thought a building was empty, when really, some of the homeless was staying in a secret room. Thirteen people die that day, and I didn't even gave it a second thought." At that, he gave a sharp bitter laugh. "I'm a horrible person. You must hate me," Swindle chanted.

"You need to rest, now go to recharge," he told him.

"Alright, no need to be pushy," Swindle told him as he took a rested on Nightbeat's berth. Nightbeat watched him as he recharged and then silently made out of the room, letting the sleeping drunk sleep off his alcohol. He closed his door silently, before noticing two other people step out of their rooms.

"I can't believe you lied to me," Wildrider complained.

"Wouldn't be the first time. Now come on, it's time we head to dinner."

* * *

Dinner came and everybody attended. Some people, mainly the Combaticons, wondered where Swindle was, but Smokescreen assured them that Swindle was sleeping off a cube of high-grade he drank. "Lightwight," Vortex murmured to himself. The other person missing was Shockwave, which worried some people, but Soundwave explained that Shockwave wished to remained in his room to conduct a couple of experiments with some chemicals he brought into his room. That eased their thoughts and they kept on socializing until eight, where they all ended dinner and Smokescreen led everybody who wanted to party to the third floor lounge.

The only ones left behind were Nautilator and Bludgeon. The former because he was sure no one wanted him and the latter because he didn't do parties, _period_. The two were practically sitting next to each other, due to their positions at the table usually has Drift in-between them. Nautilator tried not to be freaked about by the killing machine sitting next to him. If there was someone he was sure would kill first, it would be him, which is why he was wondering to himself why the frag was he sitting next to him.

"I gotta go," Nautilator said, standing up.

"Stay," Bludgeon ordered. Nautilator sat his aft back down.

"Uh, why?" Nautilator asked, fearing for his life.

"I need someone to talk too," he answered simply, which confused the Seacon. "Go ahead, regale me with tales from your past."

"Uh, why?" he repeated.

"We were all chosen for our talents. I simply wished to know how far your luck extends," he answered. Nautilator had to admit, Bludgeon was acting not quite how he expected him to. Then again, all he heard were legends of his brutality from other people. He never actually met the guy in person.

"Ugh, it's nothing special-"

BANG

"Don't you dare say that!" Bludgeon yelled at him "You were named the Ultimate Luck for a reason, which fits you, as the only way someone as pathetic as you could've survive on the battlefield so long is if you were extremely lucky. So, tell me," Bludgeon said, edging his face closer to Nautilator, "how an insignificant worm like you outlast for so many eons of war without dying. I'm listening with rapt attention."

* * *

Hoist stood outside his door, trying to consider whether he should go to the party or not. On the one hand, he had always been the quiet type and didn't enjoy events with large groups. On the other hand, he didn't want to do nothing all night. He barely heard the footsteps behind him, but noticed them all the same to turn around and noticed Soundwave knocking on Shockwave's door. Shockwave answered almost immediately and took the injector full of energon from Shockwave. "You have my gratitude," Shockwave told him.

"Noted," Soundwave answered, walking off, leaving Shockwave to close the door behind him. Hoist watched the two go before deciding on what to do. He didn't want to do nothing all day, but he didn't want to go party. He quickly made an idea. He entered his room for a few moments and exited, carrying a chair in his grip. He laid his chair down at the stairs and took and seat. He decided to play hall monitor to make sure nothing goes wrong in the lower floors and lead any early quitters to their room.

* * *

"Alright, are we all ready?" Smokescreen asked everybody. "Good, I officially declare it _party time_!" he told the crowd and was met with a chorus of approvals. Smokescreen could barely hold his smirk back.

They might just make it through this party.


	10. Chapter 1: The Fire

"Someone's preparing for the worst," Perceptor noticed as he saw Ratchet cleaning surgical tools for use.

Well, I figure that if there's a stabbing in the party, I can treat it before the victim dies, thus saving a life," Ratchet explained. "I really hope it doesn't come to that, but I'm preparing for anything."

"Alright, well, if you need me, I'll be in the fourth floor while Soundwave will be preoccupied with the fifth floor," Perceptor told him.

"Aren't you afraid someone will come up there and murder you?" Ratchet asked.

"Ratchet, the infirmary has a clear line of sight between it and the steps, so if they want to do that, they'll have to pass you and I think they would have to be really stupid to do that," Perceptor told him as he headed out the room.

"Alright, just watch your back. We need to make sure no one gets murder tonight," Ratchet told him.

"You got it," Perceptor said over his shoulders as he went up the stairs to the fourth floor.

* * *

"You guys are lucky I'm not playing," Smokescreen told the nine players at the table as he was shuffling the deck. "Any questions on the rules that people need clarification on?" he asked and was met with a cold silent.

"Just pass them out," Blurr murmured from the farthest chair on the right.

"Hey, Blurr, calm down, alright," Drift said from the center chair. "We're here to have fun, so quit fussing."

"En, he's right, Drift. Let's get started," he said, passing a card out to the person on his left, Rewind, than passing one to Chromedome, Mixmaster, Scavenger, Drift, Bumblebee, Blast Off, Vortex and Blurr, than repeating again to give everyone their second cards. "Rewind and Chromedome is the small and big blind, respectively, which means Mixmaster decides first what to do," Smokescreen said, nodding his head towards him. "You all have got a hundred thousand shanix in chips each, so please don't everyone waste it in 5 hands. I'll be sincerely disappointed," he told them.

* * *

"You ready to break, Brawl?" Onslaught asked his fellow Combaticon.

"Ready, boss," Brawl clamored, getting ready to shoot the first shot of the night. There was an 8-ball tournament going on at the pool table between eight people. Brawl and Onslaught went the first round, follow by Knock Out and Skywarp, Dead End and Jazz, and Hound and Wildrider.

"Alright, than crush it," he ordered, which Brawl did immediately, hitting the cue ball with full force, sending it into the center of the right side causing the balls to spread everywhere, resulting in a stripe to go in.

"Hah, one down!" Brawl cheered.

"Six more to go," Onslaught reminded him. "You're stripes."

* * *

"Then there was that other time where, due to my poor sense of direction, I accidently walked into a Wrecker squad," Nautilator recounted, nervously.

"Hmm, they aren't much of a challenged. They go in guns blazing without thinking of the trap that may await them," Bludgeon informed him.

"Um, you forget, I'm not you. I can't kill a squadron of wreckers by myself!" Nautilator told him.

"Then how did you survive them? Did they choose to capture you instead of killing you?"

"I wished, but nope. They shot first and I ran away, with them chasing me. I ran for Primus how long when one of their shots accidently caused a building to come down and block their path to me," Nautilator explained.

"Hmm, how lucky," Bludgeon muttered before widening his optics. "Just like those other stories you told."

"Yeah, well, I'm very unluckily lucky."

"Hmm?" Bludgeon wondered. "That was contradictory. Provide context," Bludgeon told him.

"Um, well, it means I stumble onto a lot of bad situations, but I am lucky enough to avoid being destroyed by it, somehow," he explained. "Doesn't help my social skills," he complained offhandedly.

"Yes, but your tales do prove that you have an unnatural lucky streak," Bludgeon muttered. "It is worth investigating if you've been blessed by an unnatural force. I have run into many beings that have an unnatural skill to them. You could be one, and it… interests me," Bludgeon said, intrigued by what he just said. "Strange I would be drawn to an individual like you."

"Coming from you, I'll put that in my top 10 compliments list," Nautilator said.

"You have one?"

"Yes, you just knock 'You are slightly more useful than scrap metal' off the list."

* * *

Nightbeat watched over everybody in the lounge, paying attention to every move everyone made. The energon was right next to him, so if anyone was going to poison it, they would have to get through him somehow, which was borderline impossible. Besides the people playing games, Beachcomber was cheering Onslaught on in his game of pool, Mirage was helping to over watch the poker game, and Counterpunch was…

Say, where was that guy?

"Where's Counterpunch?" he muttered to himself.

"Behind you," he said, causing Nightbeat to be momentarily shocked, before straightening himself and looked behind him at the solitary Decepticon.

"You don't talk much?" Nightbeat observed.

"Hmm, I see no point to. I do what I am told to do by Megatron and that's it. With his death, there really isn't much for me to do," Counterpunch told him."I'm lost without a purpose."

"Is that why you came here?" Nightbeat asked.

"No, I came here for answers."

"Answers?" Nightbeat asked confused, as Vortex celebrated winning the first hand of the night.

"There was something in my note that… frightens me. I wish to figure out exactly why it's so," Counterpunch told him. "As far as murder goes, you won't see me do anything until I get a straight answer from the headmaster himself."

"That is slightly comforting," Nightbeat muttered to himself.

"Good. I wished to show that I'm no one to watch over, so you can stop giving those suspicious glares at me during meals whenever I fail to contribute to the conversation."

"Ah, you noticed," Nightbeat stated.

"It's not that hard. Silent person who isolates himself from everyone? Bound to be a probable murderer in your book," Counterpunch accused.

"Well, to be fair, I'm suspicious of everyone," Nightbeat told him.

"Yes, of course. So, do you need help to make sure a murder doesn't occur?" he asked.

Nightbeat glared at the Decepticon, wondering what was his motive for doing this before shrugging it off and saying: "Just help me watch everybody. No one must murder at this party tonight."

"Understood," he agreed, standing next him and glaring at the partygoers.

* * *

"Onslaught, why do you have to show me off like this?" Brawl complained as Onslaught lined up the cue ball to knock the 8-ball in one of the corner pockets.

"Because, I need to show you why I'm the commanding officer and that corner pocket," he said, before hitting the cue ball and knocking the 8-ball right where he designated and leaving three stripes still on the table. "And that's game."

"Onslaught wins and knocks Brawl out of the tournament," Beachcomber announced. "Up next, Knock Out and Skywarp!"

"Oh, you're so going down, pretty mech," Skywarp taunted.

"I have a feeling you're going to be swallowing those words," Knock Out threaten as Beachcomber quickly prepared the balls for the second game.

"Let's see what you got, prima donna."

* * *

"I must admit that is quite a feat escaping the crashing spaceship without dying. Grabbing onto an escape pod as you were forced out in space and letting go to hit a powerful geyser to cushion your fall is quite lucky," Bludgeon complimented. "You are quite the escape artist."

"I know, right? I keep escaping from unsurvivable situations alive, if majorly injured, and no one compliments me," Nautilator complained.

"I don't blame them. As a warrior, you are undoubtedly weak-"

"Hey!"

"-but as a survivor, you excel over most beings I know of. Accident prone that you are, you know how to get through them."

"Yeah…," Nautilator agreed, going quiet. "Tell me, how did you get to be such a amazing warrior?" he asked.

"Simple: lots of training. You don't become a master of metallikato overnight," Bludgeon told the weakling. "It was a harsh and strict training regiment, meant to test the mind and soul. I, unlike most who study it, was created naturally for it and excel at everything that was needed of me to excel in."

"Wow, you're a badass," Nautilator said in awed.

"Naturally."

* * *

"How is that possible!" Skywarp screamed as Knock Out sinked the 8-ball into one of the side pockets that he called.

"Ah, flyers. Always so cocky until they get grounded to reality," Knock Out bragged, unable to resist the smug grin from coming onto his face. Skywarp glared at grounder before yelling a quick cursed and teleporting out of the room. "Oh, he's that much of a sore loser? I should've expected it," he bragged at the sight of the retreating seeker. "Who's next?" Knock Out asked.

"Dead End and Jazz," Beachcomber said.

"Oh, this shall be interesting," he said, before handing his cue to Jazz, who readily accepted it.

"Yo, Old Doom 'n Gloom. You want to break?" Jazz asked.

"Are you sure?" Dead End asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he replied as Beachcomber finished racking.

"Alright, first, a quick quote," Dead End mentioned as he set himself up. "I wished to quote a human."

"What is it?"

"Oppenheimer, who isn't a poet, but is suitable in this situation."

"Alright, what is the line?"

"'I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.'" Before Jazz could get what those words meant, Dead End hit the cue ball and knocked it into the balls and knocked three separate solids into pockets. "Not a bad line for a misquote of a poem." At that moment, Jazz realized it was a metaphor for how screwed he was.

* * *

"All in," Blurr said, as he pushed what remained of his stack into the pot. He had been betting in every hand so far and lost all of them. He would be bleeding soon for chips and had to act soon to save himself. Almost immediately, everyone folded. The only person who dared to go up against Blurr was Scavenger, who looked nervous, but put half of his stack in to match Blurr's.

"Alright, showdown. Reveal your hands," Smokescreen told them. Blurr did immediately, showing a pair of aces, a heart and a spade. Scavenger lazily flop hand his on the table, showing a king-queen combo, both diamonds. "Alright, first the flop," Smokescreen announced as he showed am ace of clubs, a jack of diamonds, and a seven of diamonds. Blurr grinned while Scavenger withered.

"Here's the turn." Smokescreen quickly showed the next a card, which turned up to be a ace of diamonds. Blurr's grinned went widened as he saw the ace, giving him a four-of-a-kind while Scavenger slumped further in his seat with his flush that was useless.

"And the river," Smokescreen announced as the next card came up and stunned everybody at the table.

A ten-of-diamonds came up, giving Scavenger a royal flush and the win.

"H-how is that possible," Blurr asked in disbelief.

"I have no idea," Scavenger admitted.

"There's a 649,740 to 1 chance of that happening. It's almost impossible," Smokescreen told them, equally as shocked as everyone else. "That's a bad bust for you, Blurr," Smokescreen told him as he shoved the pot to Scavenger, who wasn't quite registering what happen.

"Scrap," Blurr cursed, as he got up and went to where the energon was.

"Well, now, shall we continue on?" Smokescreen asked the table.

* * *

"Corner pocket," Dead End told the crowd and immediately after, knocked it in, ending the game with Jazz unable to make a turn.

"Damn," Jazz muttered. "No one told me you were a pool shark."

"Every Stunticon, except our boss, is one, which reminds me. Hound, you better count your blessings. Wildrider is going to destroy you," Dead End told him as he gave his cue to Wildrider. "Wildrider, I'll be going out for a couple of minutes. I'll be right back. Until then, sic 'em," Dead End told him as he headed out of the room.

"Roger," Wildrider yelled out as he glared at Hound. "You ready for your doom?" he asked with a psychotic smirked. Hound gazed at the Stunticon getting ready to wreck him before making a silent prayer to Primus to make his lost a swift one.

* * *

Hoist sat in his chair, reading a magazine that was in one of the shelves in his room. It was pretty boring, but was better than doing nothing. He had saw no one entered the hallway yet and it was currently 8:45. It was obvious that nothing was going to happen down there, but he was there anyway, for some reason.

Suddenly, heard one of the door opened and raised his head to see Skywarp coming out of his room, complaining about something. "I could've swore I saw you going to the party," Hoist said to the prankster, causing him to glare at him.

"Yeah, well, I got angry and teleported to my room the let go some of my anger. I feel a lot better now," he told him as he walked towards him. "What are you? Hall monitor?" he asked.

"Something like that," Hoist admitted. "So, heading back to the party?" he asked.

"Naw, I'm thinking of heading to the lunchroom and think to myself or head to the fourth floor lounge," Skywarp told him.

"Really?" he heard a voiced said from above and looked to see Dead End coming down the steps. "How predictable."

"Hey, screw you!" Skywarp told him.

"I sense a disturbance up here," they heard a voice below them and looked to see Bludgeon and Nautilator coming up together.

"What are you two hanging out together for?" Skywarp asked and turned to Dead End. "And what are you here for?" he asked him.

"I came to check on Shockwave, which I shall do now," Dead End told him as he walked past him towards his room.

"And you?" Skywarp asked the other two.

"We were engaging in a conversation downstairs," Bludgeon told him.

"Conversation? About what?" Skywarp asked.

"AH!" they heard Dead End screamed down the hallway and turned to see him holding his hand. "Shockwave's door is unnaturally hot. Why is that?" he asked himself. It didn't take long before Hoist figured it out.

"Scrap. Bludgeon, help me bust down the door," Hoist yelled as he got up and broke a leg off his chair. He quickly head over there with Bludgeon in tow. "Right, there should be weak spots right here," he said, pointing to the edge of the door on the left side and quickly rested the chair leg at the edge. "Bludgeon, grabbed this and help me open this," he ordered and he followed it quickly, grabbing hold of the chair and quickly pushing with Hoist, opening the door almost instantly-

-and into a raging fire.

"Scrap! Skywarp, extinguishers now!" he yelled at him and Skywarp comply instantly, teleporting back and forth with several extinguishers in hand. Everyone grabbed one and quickly sprayed the substance into the room. Within minutes the fire had been quelled and a disaster had been prevented.

That didn't stop the five of them from stumbling upon the burnt corpse of **Shockwave**. The only thing they could do was stared in silence at the body, still sizzling a bit from the flames

DING! DONG!

"A body has been found. A quick period of investigation will occur before a class trial!"

**Chapter 1: Welcoming Party for Despair  
**

**Abnormal Days**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Shockwave's the first to kick the bucket. Tell me what you to think of this in the comments.


	11. Chapter 1: Investigation of the Burnt Room

The silence in the hallway was deafening as the weight of Monokuma's words hit them. Someone had murder Shockwave.

"What should we do?" Bludgeon asked the group.

"Of course you would be the first speak up," Skywarp muttered.

"Is that supposed to mean something, foolish one?" Bludgeon asked him threateningly.

"Enough, both of you," Dead End ordered the two.

"He's right. Skywarp, go get the others," Hoist ordered him. Skywarp glared at Bludgeon before warping off.

"Alright, so what else should we do?" Nautilator asked them.

"We should probably contain the crime scene," Dead End suggested.

"I will do that," Bludgeon volunteered.

"We can't leave you by himself," Hoist said.

"I'll help him," Nautilator volunteered as well. "I'll probably just get in the way. Besides, me and him have perfect alibis."

"I and he," Dead End corrected, "and what do you mean by that?"

"Well, me and him were in the lunchroom the whole time during the party," Nautilator explained. Dead End glared at him. "Sorry, I meant I and he."

"Now you used it wrong in the wrong place," Dead End muttered. "Besides, just because you were together during the party, doesn't mean neither of you didn't do it," he told them.

"That's impossible. I saw Shockwave alive just before the party started. He had to be killed during it," Hoist told him.

"See? Told you," Nautilator said as he and Bludgeon entered the Shockwave's room together to stand watch over it. Dead End glared at the two before consenting with their opinion. It probably wasn't either of them.

"What happened?" he heard Nightbeat yelled as he turned to see Nightbeat and everyone else descending down the stairs and towards them before stopping before him.

"Someone started a fire in Shockwave's room and killed him," Dead End explained.

"Someone took out Shockwave? How?" he heard someone yelled in the crowd. Similar voices of wonderment came through at that.

"Oh, I'm glad you're all here!" Monobear shouted out in excitement from out of nowhere. "Well, most of you."

"Yeah, who's missing," Brawl thunderous voice asked the crowd. At his question, one of the doors opening, showing Swindle, clenching his head and muttering to himself.

"Ugh, how did I get in there?" Swindle muttered to himself as he saw everyone staring at him. "What are you guys staring at me for? You're staring at me like I'm murderer," he joked.

"For all we know, you could be," Blurr said.

"What…?" Swindle muttered, stepping to see the state of Shockwave's room. "Holy Primus," he said, speechless. "Who did that?"

"I doubt they are just going to go ahead and say it," Nightbeat muttered.

"I sure hope so. That ruins the fun when they do," Monokuma muttered angrily before using his happy tone again. "Anyway, the reason why I'd come is because most of you are amateurs in this whole murder thing, exclude a certain Ultimate Detective who I'd really hoped died first," Monobear said, glaring at Nightbeat, "I've decided to give you all something helpful to use for every trial. Your ElectroID should have a couple of new things added to it." The group quickly opened it to see something labeled 'Evidence Bullets' and the rules had an update symbol on it. The group clicked on the rules button to see what new rules were updated.

8\. In the event of a murder in the teacher group, a school trial shall commence. Participation in the school trial will be mandatory.

9\. During the school trial, teachers will attempt to identify the culprit. If the culprit is successfully identified, they alone shall be punished for their crime.

10\. Failure to identify the culprit will be considered a violation of the school rules. In this event, all teachers except the culprit shall be punished.

11\. More rules will be added when necessary

"Wait, what do you mean by punished?" Rewind asked in a nervous tone.

"Isn't it obvious? Punishment means execution," the bear told them.

"What!" everyone asked surprised.

"Oh, you look surprised. Don't know why. I thought I imply that when Skywarp over there tried to harm me," Monobear rambled to himself. "Anywaaaay, please have a look at the other thing, please." They quickly opened up to see a bulletin list labeled 'Ammo' and saw something that said "Monobear File #1."

"What is this?" Onslaught asked.

"This is something to help you keep track of evidence, of course. Or ammo, as I call it, which I'm sure is fine with all of you," Monobear told them. "If you want to add an entry, just clicked on the 'add ammo' button and you're done. I even help start you off. Clicked on Monobear File #1," he ordered them. They all agreed and looked at a small description.

**Ammo Gained: Monobear File #1**

**Victim: Shockwave**

**Location: Shockwave's dormitary room**

**Time of Death: between 8 and 8:45 P.M.**

**Cause of death: Exsanguination.**

**Additional Notes: Victim body had sustained major burns through most of their body.**

"Hmm, cause of death is a bit vague," Nightbeat noticed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Skywarp asked him. "Dude got burned in a fire."

"But the file distinctly said exsanguination."

"Isn't that getting burned?" Skywarp asked, rubbing his head.

"No, it means he lost enough energon to cause death," Nightbeat inform him. "He bled to death."

"Oh, so wait! Why is there a fire?"

"Oh, you guys are hypothesizing already! This should be interesting. Have fun with your investigation?" Monokuma cooed before disappearing.

"So, I guess one of us really killed him," Ratchet said, sounding withdrawn.

"Yes, so let's start out investigation," Nightbeat told everybody. "I'll lead the investigation." Nightbeat studied every one of them.

"Hey, what if you're the murderer?" Vortex asked. He had a point.

"I'll be his assistant detective," Ratchet said. "He won't do anything as long as I'm watching."

"I think we should have a couple of Decepticons as detectives as well to prevent biased," Onslaught recommended.

"I'll be an assistant," Knock Out offered. "Ratchet can't be the only one to look at the body, just in case he's the killer."

"I'll help too," Scavenger agreed.

"I'll provide assistance," Chromedome agreed.

"I'll look into it as well," Dead End agreed.

"I'll volunteer to be a detective for the Decepticons," Skywarp offered, causing some looks of shock from people, but that subside.

"Alright, I guess that is good," Nightbeat said as he glared at everyone. One of them was a murderer and they had to figure out who it was, if they want to survive.

_Investigation Start_

**Head Detective: Nightbeat**

**Assistant Detectives: Ratchet, Knock Out, Scavenger, Chromedome, Skywarp, and Dead End**

"Well, I guess I'll investigate the crime scene," Nightbeat told him. "If anyone besides my assistants would like to help, feel free. Just know everybody is watching your actions," he told the room.

"Bludgeon and _I_ ," Nautilator stressed, looking at Dead End, "have already agreed to looking over the body. We both got perfect alibis for the crime," Nautilator told Nightbeat.

"You do?" Nightbeat asked.

"Of course," Bludgeon answered from behind Nautilator. "We were in the place of digesting out meals during the party and converse to each other. Neither of us left each other's sight. We saw no one else. We kept the door open to see if anybody else came down."

"Hmm, that sounds important. Better add it to evidence," Nightbeat muttered as he added it.

**Ammo Gained: Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony.**

**Both of them were in the lunchroom when the crime occur and saw no one come down. One of the first to find the body.**

"Anybody would like to add their testimonies?" Nightbeat asked.

"I will," Hoist said. "I was watching the 2nd floor playing hall monitor, as Skywarp called me, and didn't see anybody."

"No one at all?"

"Absolutely no one until Skywarp came out of his room, Dead End came down, and Bludgeon and Nautilator came up and found the body with me," Hoist replied.

"Skywarp left his room? So that's where he went when he warped off," Nightbeat muttered. "Thank you for this information."

"No problem."

**Ammo Gained: Hoist's Testimony**

**Was watching the second floor. No one came down to the second floor until Skywarp, Bludgeon, Nautilator, and Dead End discovered the body with him.**

"Skywarp and Dead End. Can you guys give me your testimonies real quick," he asked of them.

"No problem," Skywarp answered quickly. "Anyway, I was at the party until about, say… 8:30 I think. After that, I'd warped off to my room and stayed there until 8:45, when I discover the body with everyone else."

"Not bad," Nightbeat told him as he added the entry.

**Ammo Gained: Skywarp's Testimony**

**At the party until about 8:30 P.M.. Spent the rest of his time in his room until he helped found the body**

"Dead End?" Nightbeat asked.

"We'll talk later. In private," Dead End told him, shrugging him off. "We should investigate the body first." Nightbeat couldn't tell very well, but Dead End looked… vexed with something, which is unlike him. He spends most of his time wallowing in his own misery. He would definitely have to push him for info later.

"Alright, we should start investigating the place. Anybody who doesn't want to help investigate the room, pair up and go somewhere else to investigate. The killer could've left clues in other areas," he told them, before entering the scene of the crime. The room was soak from the foam from the fire extinguishers. The foam had disappeared by now. Anything that wasn't untouched was burnt by the fire and had died off on its own. He could see a dent in one of the walls and a desk turned over. Inside, he saw Ratchet, Scavenger, and Knock Out investigating the body together with Bludgeon and Nautilator on guard duty, watching over the three medics and anyone else. The body was located facedown near the back of the room where the closet and bed was. From behind, he heard the clank of footsteps as they stepped on the wet ground and turned to see Dead End, Chromedome, and Rewind entering behind him with Skywarp watching behind the door. Nightbeat approached the three medics.

"Found anything," Nightbeat asked, kneeling down to view the corpse with them. Shockwave's body wasn't in the best o shape, as the fire made a lot of burn and scratch marks on him. Some of the wires melted to each other and his optic was broken, shattered beyond repaired with some of the pieces sticking to the floor. Some of his armor looked smaller like it originally was.

"Besides the obvious," Knock Out scoffed.

"Describe obvious," Nightbeat asked.

"I mean the fact that Shockwave got in a fight before he died," Knock Out explained.

"Ah, how did you judged that?"

"The optics are shattered. That doesn't happen in a fire," Ratchet explained for him. "Usually, the edges would just melt around the place holding the optic."

"Yeah, and looking around the room, it's pretty easy to see that something started here," Scavenger said, pointing out the overturn desk with chemicals and the impact in the wall. "I'm sure those didn't come from a fire."

"Alright, so we'll add this to the evidence," Nightbeat said.

**Ammo gained: Signs of a Struggle**

**It appears Shockwave was in a fight before he died.**

"This has to be important," Nightbeat said to himself before turning over to the guests. "So, why are you here?" Nightbeat asked them.

"Well, I came here to lend my services," Chromedome replied, showing off the needles in his fingers.

"Ah, that could be valuable," Nightbeat replied as he stepped aside. Chromedome walked over to where Shockwave was and plunged the needles into the back of his head.

"Uh, what's he doing?" Scavenger asked, confused.

"He's a mnemosurgeon. He can use those needles to tell us what happen in Shockwave's last moments of life," Ratchet told him as Chromedome examined his memories.

"Just fragments," Chromedome told him. "I'm much better with a living individual." The process was quick and a minute later, Chromedome put his needles back into his fingers.

"Odd," Chromedome said to them, "it appears he wasn't in a fight in his last moments. One moment he's up and the next he's not. I could see him struggle with something, but it certainly wasn't a fight. Everything is too sketchy," Chromedome told them.

"He was probably bleeding out. It just took a long time for him to actually die," Knock Out tried to explain.

"I have to agree with Knock Out on this one. The culprit probably landed the death blow and let him bleed off slowly before starting the fire. Shockwave was probably trying not to bleed off," Ratchet agreed.

"Still, we better add what Chromedome saw to the evidence list," Nightbeat said as he enter it in.

**Ammo Gained: Victim's Last Moments**

**Victim was stuggling, but not in a fight.**

"What is that sound?" Rewind asked, as he walk into the bathroom and opened the door. "Hey, it looks like the shower is still going!" he told the room. Nightbeat immediately headed over there and looked inside.

"Um, strange. Why would it be on?" Nightbeat muttered to himself.

"And why is it pointed at the door?" Rewind asked. The shower was taken up by a cubical and the water was able to reach the door. The drain was in the cubical and a small puddle was there.

"Go turn it off," Nightbeat told Rewind as he was busy inputting the next piece of evidence in.

**Ammo Gained: Shower**

**The shower was still on when the body was found. Showerhead was pointed at the door.**

Rewind had turned it off, getting himself a bit wet in the process and looked around. "That's not the only thing wrong. Look!" he pointed out, causing Nightbeat to look at the wall next to the sink and the walls covering the entrance. It also didn't Next to it were bright blue energon splatter stains. "It looks like the fight also took part here."

"Indeed," Nightbeat muttered before adding the evidence in.

"I don't know why, but something about it looks odd," Rewind mentioned offhand.

**Ammo Gained: Energon Splatter**

**Energon splatter was found on bathroom walls and shower cubical. Rewind notes that they look slightly strange.**

"Doesn't look like there's anything suspicious in here," Nightbeat said.

"No, so if you don't mind, I think I'll dry off in here for a little while," Rewind told him.

"Alright," Nightbeat agreed, heading back to the room. He came in to see Skywarp and Dead End off to the side, looking through some drawers and everybody else observing the body. He went over to the body. "Found anything else?"

""I did," Knock Out said. "I didn't noticed it at first due to the body being all burnt up, but it looks like some pink paint got on him."

"Pink paint?" Nightbeat asked, looking over at Skywarp.

"Hey, it wasn't me this time!" he told them before continuing to look through the drawers.

"Anyway," Knock Out said, getting back on tracked, "I noticed some discoloration on the body and looked closely to see that it was pink. It covers mostly the front of his body.

"That could explained what I found," Scavenger said, slightly off to the side. "I found a can of pink paint splatter on the floor," Scavenger told them. "It was near the closet."

"So, Shockwave opened the closet and got splatter with pink paint," Nightbeat said to himself.

"Looks like it," Chromedome mentioned.

"Alright," Nightbeat mentioned before putting both items in.

**Ammo Gained: Pink stains**

**Pink stains were found on victim's body.**

**Ammo Gained: Can of pink paint**

**A can of pink paint was found near the closet spilled over.**

"I doubt we'll find a string to indicate that a trap was placed. Probably burned up in the fire," Chromedome mentioned.

"Most likely," Nightbeat agreed. "Skywarp and Dead End, did you find any evidence?" he asked them.

"Hmm, maybe," Dead End mentioned. "I found a notepad with paper in it with a page ripped out. I didn't noticed any ashes in the garbage cans so it might be somewhere else. Could be in someone's room," Dead End told them. "I think I might know who too."

"Really?" Nightbeat asked, curious. "Let me guess, Skywarp?"

"Correct."

"Hey, right next to you," Skywarp muttered.

"Would you let us investigate your room after this, Skywarp?" Nightbeat asked.

"Sure, whatever. You won't find anything," he agreed, handing him his ElectroID.

"Alright," Nightbeat said, before adding the evidence in.

**Ammo gained: Missing page**

**Notebook in victim's drawer was missing a page.**

"Whoa, this is strange. Look what I found in the kitchen cabinet," Skywarp beckoned. Nightbeat came immediately to see what Skywarp saw.

"Shockwave's injector?" Nightbeat asked.

"Yeah. Looks empty. Found it in a fireproof box. Had to bust the lock off to open it."

"Better put it in," Nightbeat said.

**Ammo gained: Shockwave's Injector**

**Shockwave's injector which he uses to feed himself. Found inside a fireproof box that was locked and was empty.**

By this time, the group was basically done examining the room. Ratchet had moved to the bathroom real quick while the rest was looking around the room for any more clues. "Scavenger!" Ratchet yelled out as he exited the bathroom.

"Yes!" Scavenger immediately answered, coming over quickly.

"Come with me to the infirmary. I wish to conduct an experiment real quickly," he told him as he headed out of the room. "Knock Out, handle the rest from here."

"I'm coming," Scavenger complied, following along like a needy child, accidently bumping into Swindle along the way.

"Hey, watch it!" he yelled out before immediately grasping his head again. "Bad idea to yell," he whispered in pain as he entered the room.

"Swindle, why are you here?" Nightbeat asked.

"Well, since I wasn't around for much of anything for the past couple of hours, I thought I could help," he told them, he said before looking around the intently. It didn't take before he noticed something suspicious. "The fire is weird," he announced.

"Care to explain?" Nightbeat asked.

"Well, my vision is a bit doozy, but I'm pretty sure the fire started at the kitchen," he told him.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"The char marks are in a V-shape pointing towards the kitchen, some of the stuff closer to the kitchen is more blacken, and there's a slight hole right above the oven where a fireball would've form," he answered.

"That's… very helpful," Nightbeat replied.

"And very disturbing," Rewind mentioned from the bathroom doorway.

**Ammo gained: Origin of fire**

**Fire was started in the kitchen.**

At that moment, he could see Knock Out directing Bludgeon to lift the body up so he could see the chest. Bludgeon did so immediately and the body was now face up. Immediately, Knock Out noticed something. "There are small holes here."

"It looks like he was stabbed with a pin," Bludgeon mentioned.

"He was in a fire. Some of the metal would melt together and become smaller, so more than likely he was stabbed with a knife or something of the other," Knock Out told him. "Probably from one of the knife block on the kitchen over there, which would make identifying which one impossible."

**Ammo Updated: Monobear file #1**

**Victim's body was found in his dorm room**

**The time of death was between 8 and 8:45 P.M.**

**Cause of death is exsanguination.**

**Victim body had sustain major burns through most of their body. Stab wounds were found on the front of the body.**

Nightbeat updated the information before heading out into the hall to see Hoist waiting for him. "Hey, Nightbeat. I need to update my testimony."

"What for?" Nightbeat asked.

"Well, I just realize that I was probably the last to see Shockwave alive, I figure I needed to add in real quick," he told him.

"You did. It was right after dinner and the party was about start upstairs. I was contemplating in the halls about what I should do when I see Soundwave knock on Shockwave's door and answered it. Soundwave handed him the injector gun and left and Shockwave closed the door. That's when I chose to be the hall monitor down here."

"That could be valuable," Nightbeat said to himself. "I really need to talk to him."

**Ammo Updated: Hoist's Testimony**

**Saw the victim talking to Soundwave before party. Was one of the last to see him.**

**Was watching the second floor. No one came down to the second floor until Skywarp, Bludgeon, Nautilator, and Dead End discovered the body with him.**

"He should be in the A/V room. That's where he spends all of his time aside from the ground bridge. If you need me for anything else, I'll be down there," Hoist said, heading off.

"Sure thing," Nightbeat mentioned before entering Skywarp's room. He quickly head to the trash to a rolled up piece of paper there. Nightbeat opened it up to see a message.

_Come to my room at 8:30_

_Shockwave_

The letter was written neat and elegantly. Looked like Shockwave's handwriting, but he had to check to make sure.

**Ammo Updated: Missing Page**

**Notebook in victim's drawer was missing a page.**

**Found in Skywarp's room, asking him to come at 8:30.**

Nightbeat looked around the room but saw nothing else suspicoius and headed out of the room. He decided to head to the thrid floor and check on the partygoers. It probably wouldn't lead to much, but it was worth a look. He entered the bar to see partygoers that warn't investigating the crime scen were just hanging around, not wanting to party. As soon as he stepped in, Beachcomber and Mirage headed towards him.

"Hey, dude," Beachcomber greeted.

"Welcome. Wish it were in better circumstance," Mirage also greeted.

"How are you two doing?" Nightbeat asked.

"Not bad," Beachcomber answered nervously.

"We came to give you our testimonies during the party. I was at the poker table and he was at the pool table," Mirage told him.

"Ah, good. Care to explain."

"Well, I was observing the poker table. None of them left the room, although Blurr did get a really bad bust.

**Ammo Gained: Mirage's Testimony.**

**No one at the poker table left the room.**

"Mine was mostly the same. However, Skywarp did leave after he lsot to Knock Out," Beachcomber told him.

"When?"

"About 8:30 **."**

**Ammo Gained: Beachcomber's Testimony**

**Skywarp left the room at about 8:30.**

"Thanks for that," Nightbeat thanked them.

"Sam **e** for you," Mirage mimiced before heading off.

"Yeah, thanks," Beachcomber said. "Please solve this Nightbeat. We're counting on you," Beachcomber told him before heading off miserably. Nightbeat looked at Beachcomber for a little while before heading up to the fourth floor. Perceptor was waiting at the top of the steps.

"Hello, I assume you came for my testimony," Perceptor said.

"Uh, I guess. Why do you assume that?" he asked.

"I wasn't at the party. That immediately makes me a suspect," he answered.

"Uh, good enough."

"Anyway, I was up here for the whloe party and never came down. No one came down and on one came up. I had a clear view of the stairs."

"What did you not have a clear view of?"

"Some labs on the right and the tool room and lounge on the left."

"Is that all?" Nightbeat asked.

"Yes."

**Ammo Gained: Perceptor's Testimony**

**Was on the fourth floor the entire time. No one else came to the floor.**

"Alright, I'll head on up to the fifth floor," Nigthbeat said as he went up.

"You go do that."

Nightbeat went up to the A/V room to see Soundwave watching some videos. Soundwave noticed quickly and turned it off, but not before Nightbeat saw a glanced of Rumble and Buzzsaw. More than likely, the other Minicons were on that video he was watching.

"What do you require?" Soundwave asked in Thundercracker's voice.

"Your testimony. You weren't at the party, which makes you a suspect informed him."

"Well then, I will tell you. I was up here the whole time, watching videos. No one else came up here," he answered.

"Is that-"

"No. Before the party, I was the last to see Shockwave alive. I gave him an injector as Hoist can verify. The videos I was watching included real-time footage of what was going on in the party."

"You were watching us?"

"It is my job. I catch every detail of the event."

**Ammo Gained: Soundwave's Testimony**

**Was on the fifth floor the entire time. No one else came up there.**

"Can you show me what videos you were watching besides us?" Nightbeat asked.

"In that side room," Soundwave pointed out.

"Be right back," Nightbeat said as he went to the room and entered it. Inside, he found plenty of discs with various things on them, and a rather large vent that could hold a small animal. Nightbeat headed out of the room. Soundwave was watching a video and was doing his best to block it from view of Nightbeat's inquisitive optics. Nightbeat decided to ignore him and head down to the first floor.

"Nightbeat, I wanted to talk to you about something I found," Hoist said to him.

"Yes."

"I went through the groundbridge logs with the memory cache and it was used."

"How many?"

"8 times," Hoist told him.

"Very interesting," Nightbeat said.

**Ammo Gained: Groundbridge Log**

**Groundbridge was used 8 times.**

"Thank you for the information. I need to go see Ratchet," Nightbeat told him, getting ready to leave before he noticed something. "That vent."

"What?" Hoist said

"Three of them look worn out while the other looks brand new."

"Huh?" Hoist said, turning his head towards the vent. "That's true, but it probably doesn't mean anything.

"Maybe, but better safe than sorry."

**Ammo Gained: Nail in Vent**

**One of the nails in the groundbridge vent is brand new.**

"Right, how many nails are in the tool room when you last check?" Nightbeat asked.

"364."

"Alright, thanks," Nightbeat said as he headed out of the room. He headed out and head back to the fourth floor and went into the tool room. In there he found that the counter read 363.

**Ammo Gained: Missing Nail**

**One of the nails in the tool room is missing.**

With that done, he went back to the third floor to see what Ratchet wanted to do with Scavenger. Before he reached him, he saw Dead End hanging around by himself in the hallway outside of the infirmary.

"Dead End, can I have your testimony?" Nightbeat asked.

"I was at the party all night until I went out at 9:45 to find the body, but that is not the important part," Dead End told him.

"It isn't?" Nightbeat asked.

"On the first night here, I was up and walking the hallways." That got Nightbeat's attention. "When walking through the hallway, I found myself on the fourth floor and stumble onto something that wasn't good," Dead End told him.

"What?"

"Shockwave stealing some of the acid," Dead End told him.

"Really?!" Nightbeat asked, shocked.

"Yes. He was briefly monologuing to himself, wondering to himself who he should use it on. He decided upon Skywarp as he would be the easiest to fool and would do it on the fifth day to let suspicions on the acid rest."

"That's… pretty damning evidence."

"Yes, it would be, if it wasn't for the fact that he became the victim instead of the murderer. That has got me confuse," Dead End told him.

"What were you planning on doing with the evidence?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Tell everyone at the trial and use any evidence that you would've found to support me, but his death has stopped that plan in its track. I looked for the acid, but couldn't find it in the room."

"Huh. Thanks for the information, Dead End."

"You're welcome," he said before heading off.

**Ammo Gained: Dead End's Testimony**

**Saw Shockwave steal a portion of the acid during the first day. Noted that victim was planning on killing Skywarp on the fifth day.**

**Was at the party the whole time until he helped discover the body.**

Nightbeat entered the infirmary after talking with Dead End to see Scavenger closing a wound in Ratchet's arm.

"What happened," Nightbeat asked.

"I ordered him to siphon some of the energon in my body for comparison."

"Compare what?"

"Bouncing off what Rewind said, I got Scavenger to take a small amount of my energon to compare it to energon and low-grade. Scavenger, can you show it to them," Ratchet asked of him.

"Yeah," Scavenger agreed, getting the three cubes out for comparison. "Notice the regular energon," Scavenger told them. "It's a regular blue. Low-grade is a slightly brighter shade of blue. The energon from the body is considerably darker than the others. Do you get that?" Scavenger asked.

"Yes, I do and this very useful information."

**Ammo Gained: Energon Test**

**Ratchet and Scavenger conducted a test comparing regular, bodily, and low-grade energon. From brightest-to-lowest: low-grade, regular, and bodily.**

"Anything else?" Nightbeat asked.

"Well, there is one more thing I don't know if you're aware of, but do you know his injection cycle?" Ratchet asked.

"No, I don't."

"Well, every time he gets a cube of energon, he puts it in an ejector and injects 25% every 15 minutes."

**Ammo Gained: Shockwave's Injection Cycle**

**Shockwave injects every 25% of energon every 15 minutes.**

DING! DONG!

"The investigation is over! Everyone head over to the cargo elevator on the first floor for the long-awaited trial!

The three robots in the room took in what he said before heading out of their room, dread filling their sparks. They had to make sure that the one who killed Shockwave is expose and dies to save everyone else. I was situation none of them wanted to be in, but they had no choice.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Ratchet grumbled, getting up and heading out of the door.

They all went down the to the elevator and waited for it to fill with everyone else. Once done, Blurr hit the button, causing a racket from the elevator and making it descend down. Everyone in the elevator was glancing at each other, wondering which of them the killer was. Someone had to murder Shockwave and they had to prove who it was. All of their lives depend on it.

The elevator stopped and opened to an underground chamber. Everyone stepped out to see a circle of thirty podiums together. On the wall directly across from them was a giant throne. The walls were painted a garish orange and red pattern.

"Welcome, everyone, to the debate! Please take a seat by your stands marked with your name on it!" he ordered, leading everyone to head where they need to. It didn't take long to figure out how it was ordered. It was arrange in the way that they sat at the lunch table. Apparently, he kept really close tabs on them. They all took their place at their podium, occupying every one of them, except for one which was occupied by…

"What's with the photo?" Perceptor asked as he started at the stand that held Shockwave's photo at his height.

"Just because someone is dead doesn't mean they can't still participate in the debate. Now then, let's go over the rules. Your task is to reason out the identity of the culprit. Succeed and only they will be punished. Fail and only they will not be punished. I assumed everyone understands that?" he asked. The room stayed quiet at what he said. "Alright, then I now pronounced the first class trial to be in session!"


	12. Chapter 1: Trial PT 1

**Have you got your facts straight?**

  **1\. Monobear file**

Victim's body was found in his dorm room

The time of death was between 8 and 8:45P.M.

Cause of death is exsanguination.

Victim body had sustain major burns through most of their body. Stab wounds were found on the front of the body.

**2.** **Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony**

Both of them were in the lunchroom when the crime occur and saw no one come down. One of the first to find the body.

**3\. Hoist's Testimony**

Saw the victim talking to Soundwave before party. Was one of the last to see him.

Was watching the second floor. No one came down to the second floor until Skywarp, Bludgeon, Nautilator, and Dead End discovered the body with him.

**4\. Skywarp's Testimony**

At the party until about 8:30 P.M.. Spent the rest of his time in his room until he helped found the body.

**5\. Signs of a Struggle**

It appears Shockwave was in a fight before he died.

**6\. Victim's Last Moments**

Victim was struggling, but not in a fight.

**7\. Shower**

The shower was still on when the body was found. Showerhead was pointed at the door.

**8\. Energon Splatter**

Energon splatter was found on bathroom walls and shower cubical. Rewind notes that they look slightly strange.

**9\. Pink Stains**

Pink stains were found on victim's body.

**10\. Can of Pink Paint**

A can of pink paint was found near the closet spilled over.

**11\. Missing Page**

Notebook in victim's drawer was missing a page.

Found in Skywarp's room.

**12\. Shockwave's Injector**

Shockwave's injector which he uses to feed himself. Found inside a fireproof box that was locked and was empty.

**13\. Origin of Fire**

Fire was started in the kitchen.

**14\. Mirage's Testimony**

No one at the poker table left the room.

**15\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Skywarp left the room at about 8:30.

**16\. Perceptor's Testimony**

Was on the fourth floor the entire time. No one else came to the floor.

**17\. Soundwave's Testimony**

Was on the fifth floor the entire time. No one else came up there.

**18\. Groundbridge Log**

Groundbridge was used 8 times.

**19\. Nail in Vent**

One of the nails in the groundbridge vent is brand new.

**20\. Missing Nail**

One of the nails in the tool room is missing.

**21\. Dead End's Testimony**

Saw Shockwave steal a portion of the acid during the first day. Noted that victim was planning on killing Skywarp on the fifth day.

Was at the party the whole time until he helped discover the body.

**22\. Energon Test**

Ratchet and Scavenger conducted a test comparing regular, bodily, and low-grade energon. From brightest-to-lowest: low-grade, regular, and bodily.

**23\. Shockwave's Injection Cycle**

Shockwave injects every 25% of energon every 15 minutes.

* * *

_Trial is now in session!_

* * *

"So, how should we get started?" Brawl asked the group. "Never been in something like this."

"None of us has," Knock Out growled. "We're put in a life-and-death trial to find a killer among a circle of killers." 

"Indeed. We have all killed before during the war. Before, we were rewarded. Now, we are being punished for killing," Soundwave remarked. 

"That's only if you're caught," Vortex remarked. "If they get away with it, we'll all get executed in their place." 

"And I refuse to die for someone else's crime," Bludgeon growled. 

"Neither do the rest of us," Onslaught agreed. "That means we have to find the one who didthis, no matter what." 

"So what should we do?" Beachcomber asked. 

"Well, I guess we should just talk and see if something comes up," Jazz said, unsure about this.

"Right, how about we give a run through of events," Hoist suggested.

"Couldn't hurt," Ratchet agreed. "It's always best to make sure everyone remember the facts of the murder."

Nightbeat stayed silent, observing everyone. He would have to make sure nobody got anything wrong to stir the court into the right direction.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Useable ammunition:

Beachcomber's testimony

Mirage's testimony

( **Bold** = weakpoint. **Bold with underline** = correct weakpoint)

SMOKESCREEN: I suggested that we have a party today at lunch for 8.

SMOKESCREEN: It was supposed to be a night of gambling and fun. 

MIRAGE: Most of the people came, except for a select few.

COUNTERPUNCH: Bludgeon, Nautilator, Hoist, Swindle, Soundwave, Ratchet, and Perceptor all did not attend. 

PERCEPTOR: As well as the victim, Shockwave. 

BLURR: **N** **o one left the party.**

ONSLAUGHT: The party went on until 8:45 when the body announcement went off.

CHROMEDOME: After which, we all came down to see Shockwave's corpse.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: You've got that wrong!

Ammunition used: Beachcomber's testimony

* * *

"Remember what Beachcomber said in his testimony, Blurr?" Nightbeat asked. "Skywarp left at 8:30."

"Oh, he did?"

"Yes, he did."

"Even I can agree that I left at 8:30," Skywarp agreed. "I got ticked off after Knock Out beat me at a game of pool, so I teleported to my room to calm door." 

"My, what a sore loser you are," Knock Out chuckled. 

"Shut up!" 

"Anyway, I left as well, right before the body was discovered," Dead End told him. "I wanted to check on Shockwavee, but when I reached his door, I noticed how hot it felt." 

"At the same time, me and Nautilator were coming up the stairs and Skywarp exited his room," Bludgeon stated. 

"With Bludgeon's help, I broke the door down to find a fire in Shockwave's room," Hoist added. 

"Hoist ordered me to get some fire extinguishers, so I quickly teleported to get some and returned with them," Skywarp gave his testimony. 

"After we sprayed the room down, we found Shockwave's charred body in the room," Nautilator finished it. 

"And so, that leads us to Shockwave's room, the scene of the murder," Jazz said. "Thanks for the testimony." 

"If this helps to find a killer, it is no problem," Bludgeon stated. "Now, let us talk about the state of Shockwave's room." 

 

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Useable ammunition:

Monobear File #1

Hoist's Testimony

VORTEX: So, we all came down, even the ones who didn't come to the party.

VORTEX: **The room was a burnt mess.**

HOIST: I broke the door down to find the body with Bludgeon.

WILDRIDER: Which meant they couldn't have barge into the room in the first place.

BUMBLEBEE: So, **Shockwave let the culprit in** …

BUMBLEBEE: And the culprit stabbed Shockwave to death!

NAUTILATOR: After which they started the fire...

NAUTILATOR: **and escaped unseen**.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's a contradiction!

Ammo used: Hoist's Testimony

* * *

"Hoist was playing hall monitor on the second floor. He can testify that no one came to the second floor until the body was discovered," Nightbeat told him.

"Ah, that's true. Well, that puts a hole in my theory," Bumblebee muttered, "unless Hoist was the killer, which I sincerely doubt."

"Could he?" Blast Off. "We shouldn't consider anybody unable to commit murder."

"He has a point," Dead End agreed. "Murder can be caused by the most unlikely of people."

"Can we get back to the topic at hand?" Soundwave asked the group. "We're veering off topic."

"No, not yet!" Vortex yelled. 

"Huh?" Hoist asked. 

"I think Hoist might be the killer!" the interrogator stated. 

"What?!" 

"It's just like Bumblebee stated. If you're watching the halls, the only one who could possibly enter is you," Vortex stated. "Since no one else can get past you, the gatekeeper, then you can be the only one who Shockwave would let in." 

"But it's not me. Honest," Hoist defended himself. 

"But no one was around between 8 and 8:45, right?" Vortex asked him. 

"I warped to my room without talking to Hoist, so I never saw him," Skywarp stated. 

"We didn't come up until 8:45," Bludgeon supplemented. 

"So, that means Hoist has no alibi, right?" Vortex asked. 

"Well, y-yes, but, would I really do something that stupid?" Hoist asked him. "Anyone in my position would know they would be suspected." 

"Which is what you're counting on us to think," Vortex remarked back. 

"Huh!" 

"You would rather have us go in circles looking for an answer that isn't there, all the while ignoring you. Well, I won't fall for it!" Vortex yelled. 

"But I'm not the killer!" 

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: 

Signs of a Struggle

Shower

Victim's Last Moments

Energon Splatter

Monobear File #1

VORTEX:  **Hoist killed Shockwave!**

VORTEX: He fought with him around the area...

VORTEX: ...before ending him. 

HOIST: But I was **keeping watch** , honest! 

MIRAGE: Is it really that simple? 

HOUND: I see no reason for it to not be that simple. 

DRIFT: **No way would an Autobot kill someone!**

DRIFT: Not when all of our lives are on the line. 

SWINDLE: We can't accept that. 

SWINDLE: Still, it was a **pretty clean kill.**  

SWINDLE: Hoist must've got the drop on him. 

VORTEX: Damn right, Swindy! 

VORTEX: Hoist probably stabbed Shockwave **from behind!**  

VORTEX: And then he made out with none the wiser.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's wrong! 

Ammo Used: Monobear File #1

* * *

"Vortex, Ratchet and Knock Out did do an autopsy on Shockwave and while they did see stab wounds, it was on his front, not behind," Nightbeat corrected him. 

"Wait, on the front, not the back?" Vortex yelled. 

"Yes, which means if Hoist stabbed him, like you believe, he would've got energon all over him," Nightbeat remarked. 

**I'LL CUT THAT DOWN!**

"Alright, I take back my comment about Hoist stabbing him in the back, but that doesn't prove he isn't the killer!" Vortex yelled. "If he was stabbed up front, that mean Hoist had to wash off the energon. He could totally do that!" 

"You're talking about the shower?" Nightbeat asked. 

"Damn right. It would be no problem for him," Vortex stated. 

"No, that isn't true. Because if Hoist got in a fight with him, then that would pose another problem," Nightbeat state.

"My aft it would!" Vortex yelled. "Just try and prove it!" 

* * *

Cross Swords Debate!

Swords Available: 

Shower

Victim's Last Moments

Signs of A Struggle

VORTEX: Hoist fought with Shockwave in his room! 

VORTEX: Afterward, he used Shockwave's shower to wash the energon off him. 

VORTEX: After that, he set up the fire and started it. 

VORTEX: From there, he made a clean getaway with no witnesses. 

... 

Development

...

NIGHTBEAT: You said Hoist would wash all the energon off. 

NIGHTBEAT: But wouldn't he have to take care of another thing? 

VORTEX: Another thing? 

VORTEX: All he had to worry about were the energon stains. 

VORTEX: **Nothing else!**

VORTEX: Therefore, I see no reason not to vote him up and execute him. 

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I'll cut that down. 

Sword Used: Signs of a Struggle

* * *

"Vortex, Listen to me. Do you think Hoist could get in a fight with Shockwave without sustaining any injuries?" Nightbeat asked him. 

"With Shockwave? Well, now that I think about it... it's unlikely," Vortex agreed. 

"So tell me, if that's true, why doesn't Hoist have any injuries on him?" Nightbeat asked him. 

"Shockwave is an incredible foe," Soundwave remarked. "the thought that someone as average as Hoist defeated him without sustaining a wound is improbable." 

"You defended me while insulting me. Guess I should thank you..." Hoist muttered. 

"Either way, I think we can agree that Hoist didn't fight with Shockwave," Nightbeat stated. 

"Fine, I guess you're right," Vortex agreed, angry. "Guess I jumped the gun a bit early there. 

"No, Vortex, this is good. Thanks to this discussion, we can now safely rely on Hoist's testimony without suspicion," Onslaught told his subordinate. 

"I guess so," Vortex muttered. 

"Well, now that that's settle, what shall we talk about next?" Chromedome asked the room. 

"How about we discuss the fire?" Counterpunch offered. "I want to make sure all the info on that is accounted for." 

"Go for it," Blurr shrugged.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Useable ammunition:

Origin of Fire

Dead End's Testimony

Pink Stains

COUNTERPUNCH: The fire **started at an undeterminable time.**

SCAVENGER: **And at a place we don't know.**

MIXMASTER: Why did he start the fire?

JAZZ: **To try and hide the cause of death** , of course.

KNOCK OUT: It certainly made it harder for me to find the stab wounds.

BLUDGEON: He probably did it as a way to **destroy evidence** as well.

SOUNDWAVE: Yes, but the bathroom was left unmarred by the fire.

SOUNDWAVE: Surely there's something suspcious about that. 

* * *

 NIGHTBEAT: That's incorrect!

Ammo used: Origin of Fire

* * *

"Swindle was able to correctly determine the location of the fire to the kitchen," Nightbeat informed him.

"Wha- but how? That sounds suspicious to me!" Scavenger badgered

"He used to be an arsonist," Nightbeat told him.

"What...?"

"How do you know that?!" Swindle asked, shocked.

"You told me while you were overloaded," Nightbeat informed him.

"Me and my big mouth," Swindle huffed. "Anyway, I used to be an arsonist, so it wasn't too hard to figure it out. There are certain v-shape marks that occured at the origin of the fire as well as much of the surrounding area being more blacken than the rest. The fire can start at nowhere but the kitchen."

"Satisfied?" Nightbeat asked Scavenger.

"Uh, yeah," Scavenger said, embarrassed. "The fire started in the kitchen." 

"So, after the fire started, the culprit left. Still doesn't answer how the culprit got in the first place," Rewind said.

"Isn't it obvious," Bumblebee said. "Assuming Hoist's testimony is correct, there is only one way into it!" He glared around the room until his gazed settle on Nightbeat. "You know, right?"

"Of course I do," he answered.

"Then tell us," Onslaught beckoned.

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram_

_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

_/ _/ _/ E/ P/ _/ _/ _/

T/ E/ _/ E/ P/ _/ _/ _/

T/ E/ L/ E/ P/ O/ _/ _/

T/ E/ L/ E/ P/ O/ R/ T/

NIGHTBEAT: Here's your answer.

* * *

"The killer teleported in," Nightbeat told the room.

"Teleported? Well, I guess that makes sense," Hound agreed. "If you can't get past Hoist and there are no hidden passages to the rooms, then the only way in is to teleport." 

"Which means there is only one viable candidate for the murder," Onslaught said.

"Yes, it does," Nightbeat agreed, although there was something in his CPU that told him that this was wrong. Still, he had to go with it for now and see if he could wring more information out of him. At the very least, he was certainly lying. 

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

Brawl

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

**Skywarp**

Counterpunch

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

Vortex

Nightbeat

Soundwave

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: They could've done it!

* * *

"Skywarp is the only person who could've done it," Nightbeat said.

"What!" Skywarp yelled. "I didn't do it. There's another way."

"Really now? Then explain it to us," Brawl threaten, pounding his fist together.

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Useable Ammunition

SKYWARP: Look, there is **another** **way**.

ONSLAUGHT: I find that hard to believe.

SKYWARP: Look, it's pretty easy.

SKYWARP: All they had to do was **use the groundbridge.**

BEACHCOMBER: That might work.

NAUTILATOR: Uh...

NAUTILATOR: Should I tell him or Bludgeon?

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's wrong!

Ammunition used: Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony

* * *

"In order to use the groundbridge, they would have to past Bludgeon and Nautilator, who didn't see anyone."

"That is true. We saw no one enter our line of sight," Bludgeon agreed.

"Yeah, I don't think anyone was able to get past us," Nautilator agreed. "We were keeping effective watch over the cafeteria entrance, which you need to cross in order to reach the groundbridge room." 

"Which means it could only be-"

**SHUT IT!**

Everyone turned to look at Skywarp, who had a serious expression on his face. "It's not me!" Skywarp shouted, pounding his fist on the podium.

"Skywarp, tell us the truth," Nightbeat order firmly.

"No, this is stupid! You hear me!" Skywarp berated, not letting go. "Besides, you don't even have any proof that I was there."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure we do," Nightbeat told him.

"No way you do. Here's what happen to me!!"

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Useable swords:

Can of pink paint

SKYWARP: I wasn't there!

SKYWARP: I was at the party.

SKYWARP: I went to my room after it.

SKYWARP: Nothing more, nothing less.

SKYWARP: That's the truth!

…

DEVELOPMENT

…

NIGHTBEAT: Skywarp, we both know you're lying, now speak the truth!

NIGHTBEAT: Only someone who can teleport can get past Hoist. 

SKYWARP: I'm not lying. 

SKYWARP: Shockwave was killed by someone else.

SKYWARP: This is all a trap!

SKYWARP: **I was never in Shockwave's room**!

SKYWARP: The only person who did was the killer...

SKYWARP: ...who is someone else among us.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I'll cut that claim to pieces.

Sword used: Can of Paint

* * *

Nightbeat slammed his fist on the podium. "There was a can of paint in that room right next to the closet. Now tell me, how does that sound familiar?"

"When he pranked me!" Bumblebee explained, glaring daggers at Skywarp.

"Ugh!" Skywarp grunted.

"The only reason they would be there would be is if you put it there, and there's evidence that proves it was used!"

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear file

2\. Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony

3\. Hoist's Testimony

4\. Skywarp's Testimony

5\. Signs of a Struggle

6\. Victim's Last Moments

7\. Shower

8\. Energon Splatter

9\. **Pink Stains**

10\. Can of Pink Paint

11\. Missing Page

12\. Shockwave's Injector

13\. Origin of Fire

14\. Mirage's Testimony

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Perceptor's Testimony

17\. Soundwave's Testimony

18\. Groundbridge Log

19\. Nail in Vent

20\. Missing Nail

21\. Dead End's Testimony

22\. Energon Test

23\. Shockwave's Injection Cycle

* * *

"Shockwave was covered in pink stains, which have to be from the pink paint that you put in there! And judging from the position, you put it in the closet with a string attached to it that would make it fall on anyone who opens it," Nightbeat accused. "So, am I wrong?"

"Gah!" Skywarp was hunched over, gritting his teeth together, glaring at Nightbeat.

**IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!  
**

The people in the room were surprised when Dead End gave an objection.

"Ugh, isn't that enough?" Beachcomber asked.

"Nightbeat, you have prove that Skywarp has been in Shockwave's room, but all this indicates he was there before the party even started. Present something that indicates he was there when the party was in motion," Dead End asked of him.

"Hey, he's right. Prove that, slaghead!" Skywarp yelled at him.

"Alright, if you say so," Nightbeat agreed, annoyed.

"After that, if you don't explain everything, I'll have Brawl beat you up!" Vortex shouted.

"Slag yeah!" Brawl shouted.

"Men, calm down!" Onslaught shouted at his men before telling Nightbeat: "Continue."

"Anyway, Skywarp had to be there! There is no question about it," Nightbeat told Dead End.

"Well then, let me point out why that's wrong," Dead End countered.

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!  
_

Swords Available:

Energon Test

Can of Paint

Missing Page

Dead End's Testimony

DEAD END: You assume Skywarp had to be there.

DEAD END: That is a failed assumption.

DEAD END: Skywarp teleported out of the party in a rage...

DEAD END: ...out of losing to Knock Out...

DEAD END: ...which is truly a dismaying thought.

DEAD END: Also, may I remind you that Hoist saw him exiting his room?

...

DEVELOPMENT

...

NIGHTBEAT: Exiting his room doesn't prove he was always there.

NIGHTBEAT: Skywarp can teleport wherever he wants. 

NIGHTBEAT: He can easily teleport from Shockwave's room to his own room. 

DEAD END: While that is true...

DEAD END: **...there is still no reason for him to go there.**

DEAD END: All he wanted to do is to play a prank...

DEAD END: ... **not kill**.

DEAD END: Overall, your arguments amount to nothing.

DEAD END: Now be silent.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's getting cut down.

Sword used: Missing Page

* * *

"This page was missing from Shockwave's notebook and was found in-"

"Skywarp's room. I know," Dead End finished. "It asked him to come at 8:30."

"Wha-" Nightbeat said, before shaking his head and glaring at him. "What was the point of that?"

"I think he was trolling you. Hah!" Wildrider laughed.

"To make sure you were paying attention, now Skywarp," he said, looking at him, "I'd say it's looking pretty damning for you right now, so if you want to avoid any more complications, tell us the truth and we'll see if you did it," Dead End said, trying to convince him to tell the truth. Skywarp kept his head down, thinking it through. Nightbeat was hoping he was right about Skywarp.

"Alright, I'll talk," Skywarp agreed. "I've entered Shockwave's room today. Twice."

"Go through it slowly," Nightbeat asked.

"So, a little after lunch today, I went to the art room and get some more cans of pink paint and teleported inside Shockwave's room. I went through a thorough examination of the room and decided to place it in the closet. I left after that. About a couple of hours before dinner, I went back to my room for a little. I heard knocking at my door, so I came out to see a note on the floor. It was the missing page you were talking about. Once the party was in motion, I decided to hang out there until the time Shockwave told me to. At 8:30, I teleported out of there and into his room."

"That's when I found him dead," Skywarp said. "I'd- I'd freak out. I didn't know what to do, so I'd just freaked out and went to my room for a little while until I calmed myself down and headed back into the hallway where Hoist was and help find the body. I have no idea how the fire happened or who killed him!" Skywarp finished, sounding like he just had a weight off his shoulders.

"Oh, what a bunch of scrap!" Bumblebee yelled out. "You killed him and set fire to the room, didn't you!"

"What, no I didn't!"

"Yes, you did. Here's what I think happened. You pop in there and Shockwave is alive and well, however he is drenched with paint. He went to the bathroom and asked that you come with him. You, being scare for your life, but wanting to get out of this hellhole, decided to take one of the knives in the kitchen. Shockwave turns on the shower and you come in and stab him. The fight gets out of control, splattering Shockwave's energon everywhere in the bathroom. You, being a scared for your life, warped out and let your fatal wounds finished him off. Then, once that was done, you came back to the room to set fire to the room to hide your crimes. That's how you did it!" Bumblebee accused.

The courtroom was going quiet at that, with many of the people there murmuring agreements to each other. Skywarp was looking on, his face contorted into a face of despair. There was nothing to argue against in that statement. "Now then, let's execute this-"

**HOLD IT!**

Optics turned to Nightbeat who shouted the phrase. "There is something wrong with this!"

"Are you a moron? Nightbeat, I get that you're the Ultimate Detective, but the answer is obvious. Why are you against it?"

"Because there's something wrong with this," Nightbeat answered. "I feel like someone's is framing Skywarp for the crime."

"Frame?" Soundwave asked. "Have you forgotten he was the only one able to get in the room?"

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with the way I described it," Bumblebee shouted, glaring at him.

"Trust me, I would like this to be the complete answered, but there's something wrong."

"What do you mean?" Bumblebee asked him. "Am I'm missing a piece. Tell us and we can figure it out."

"It's not that we're missing something. I'm saying that your account of events directly contradicts the evidence."

"What? But the evidence clearly points to Skywarp," Bumblebee told him.

"It does, but the description of events don't work. It goes against something I know," Nightbeat told him.

"Yeah, right. Let's see you prove it," Bumblebe arrogantly said. "There's is nothing wrong with the events I explained so let me describe it again to get it into your frakking head!"

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Useable Swords:

Energon Splatter

Energon Test

BUMBLEBEE: I expected better from you.

BUMBLEBEE: Isn't it obvious?

BUMBLEBEE: Skywarp killed Shockwave!

BUMBLEBEE: All the evidence points to him.

BUMBLEBEE: From the note asking him there...

BUMBLEBEE: To the paint on Shockwave!

…

DEVELOPMENT

…

NIGHTBEAT: Are you sure everything points to Skywarp killing Shockwave?

NIGHTBEAT: Are you sure you're not missing something?

BUMBLEBEE: I'm not missing anything.

BUMBLEBEE: Skywarp went in there.

BUMBLEBEE: **He got in a fight with him in the bathroom.**

BUMBLEBEE: Than he left him for dead.

BUMBLEBEE: After that, he set fire to the room to destroy the evidence.

BUMBLEBEE: That's how he did it.

BUMBLEBEE: Nothing wrong with any of that.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I'll cut that claim to pieces.

Sword used: Energon Test

* * *

"Ratchet did a test, comparing regular, bodily, and low-grade energon. Compare the three to the splatter in the bathroom and you will see that it's **low-grade splatter all over the bathroom walls**!" Nightbeat explained.

"Hu-agh!" Bumblebee yelled out. "What made you suspicious of it?" he asked of Ratchet.

"Rewind noticed that something looked off about it so I investigated it," Ratchet explained. "Turn out to be a good hunch."

"How did you know something was wrong?" Bumblebee asked Rewind.

"Uh, I'd rather not talk about it? It doesn't have anything to do with this case," Rewind told him.

"Rewind," Chromedome said, "please said it. You not answering is automatically suspicious so just say why." Rewind glance at Chromedome before conceding.

"I, uh, watch snuff footage," Rewind answered which was met by the silence from the court.

"Uh, what?" Skywarp asked.

"Just where did you get this footage?" Chromedome asked, the sound of rage barely escaping from his voice.

"I got them from Swindle!" Rewind answered.

"You rat me out, you piece of scrap!" Swindle yelled out.

"Enough!" Onslaught shouted with a bang on his podium, bringing everybody's attention to him. "Snuff film escapades aside," he said, both him and Chromedome glaring at Swindle and Rewind, respectively, with their best 'we will talk about this later' look, "this is a good point. If the brawl in the bathroom was faked, what else was?" Onslaught asked.

"Probably most of the knife wounds were added postmortem after his death," Nightbeat answered.

"Do you believe me now?" Skywarp asked.

"No, but it does look more believable now," Nightbeat answered honestly.

"Wait, there is one more thing that I have to said," Skywarp said. "It's about the fireproof box."

"What about it?" Nightbeat asked.

"When I first entered his room, I found it in the closet. But, as you remember, I found it in the kitchen cabinet. It was moved," Skywarp answered.

"What?"

"You know, I remember a fireproof box in my closet as well," Vortex noted.

"As do I," Blurr agreed.

"Wait, so the default place for the fireproof box is in the closet?" Nightbeat asked.

"It looks like it," Knock Out agreed.

"Hmmm," Nightbeat silently said to himself before getting his electroID out.

**Ammo Gained: Location of fireproof box**

**Normally found in the closet, it was found in one of the kitchen cabinets.**

"Alright, so what does that means," Chromedome asked.

"It means the killer moved it for some reason," Blast Off said.

"Are we sure it was the killer?" Nightbeat asked.

"How can you say that, of course it was the killer," Swindle said.

"No, a distinct piece of evidence supports this," Nightbeat said.

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear file

2\. Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony

3\. Hoist's Testimony

4\. Skywarp's Testimony

5\. Signs of a Struggle

6\. Victim's Last Moments

7\. Shower

8\. Energon Splatter

9\. **Pink Stains**

10\. Can of Pink Paint

11\. Missing Page

12\. Shockwave's Injector

13\. Origin of Fire

14\. Mirage's Testimony

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Perceptor's Testimony

17\. Soundwave's Testimony

18\. Groundbridge Log

19\. Nail in Vent

20\. Missing Nail

21\. Dead End's Testimony

22\. Energon Test

23\. Shockwave's Injection Cycle

24\. Location of Fireproof Box

* * *

"I'm pretty sure Shockwave got those pink stains when he was getting the box out of the closet," he answered. "Hoist can testify that Shockwave didn't have those pink stains at his last appearance alive."

"I can."

"And, in order to have get the fireproof box in the first place, he would have to get splatter by the bucket of paint just waiting for them to enter."

"Exactly," Knock Out agreed.

"But why would he need the box for?" Nautilator asked.

"He wanted to protect what was in it, probably," Skywarp answered.

"Actually, I think he got the box out to put the injector in it," Nightbeat said.

"What?"

"He did it so the killer couldn't get to it," Nightbeat explained. "You said it yourself Skywarp. You had to break the lock in order to use it."

"Which means what exactly?"

"It means," Nightbeat paused, "I know who did it."

"Wait, you do?" Knock Out asked.

"Yes, I do, maybe," Nightbeat murmured. "Mixmaster, what can you tell me about the acid when added to another substance such as energon?"

"Well, it would add itself too it and camouflage itself as part of the thing before the combination causes it to evaporate, leaving no trace of it. Shouldn't take more than thirty minutes."

"That's what I thought. Let me just….

**Ammo Gained: Acid effects**

**Acid melds with substance until it evaporates in thirty minutes.**

"One more thing. Skywarp, did you happen to find the acid there when you were rummaging through the room.

"No."

"Hoist, you and Soundwave fixed the groundbridge today in the morning, correct?" he asked them.

"Yes, we did and Soundwave tested it out once we were done."

"Both of you update your testimony to include that."

**Ammo Updated: Hoist's Testimony**

**Helped fix the groundbridge this morning with Soundwave, who tested it out.**

**Saw the victim talking to Soundwave before party. Was one of the last to see him.**

**Was watching the second floor. No one came down to the second floor until Skywarp, Bludgeon, Nautilator, and Dead End discovered the body with him.**

**Ammo gained: Soundwave's testimony**

**Helped fix the groundbridge this morning with Hoist and tested it himself.**

**Was on the fifth floor the entire time. No one else came up there.**

"So, exactly what does this mean?" Nautilator asked. "There is no way to use the groundbridge without being spotted by me and Bludgeon.

"It means I've figured it out."

"…!"

"The killer is…"

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

Brawl

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

Counterpunch

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

Vortex

Nightbeat

Soundwave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger because I'm evil, although I'm sure you've figure it our by now. Leave your guesses in the comments below (if you want to).


	13. Chapter 1: Trial PT 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to announce the killer!

**Have you got your facts straight?**

**1\. Monobear file**

Victim's body was found in his dorm room

The time of death was between 8 and 8:30 P.M.

Cause of death is exsanguination.

Victim body had sustain major burns through most of their body. Stab wounds were found on the front of the body.

**2\. Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony**

Both of them were in the lunchroom when the crime occur and saw no one come down. One of the first to find the body.

**3\. Hoist's Testimony**

Helped fix the groundbridge this morning with Soundwave, who tested it out.

Saw the victim talking to Soundwave before party. Was one of the last to see him.

Was watching the second floor. No one came down to the second floor until Skywarp, Bludgeon, Nautilator, and Dead End discovered the body with him.

**4\. Skywarp's Testimony**

At the party until about 8:30 P.M. Spent the rest of his time in his room until he helped found the body.

**5\. Signs of a Struggle**

It appears Shockwave was in a fight before he died.

**6\. Victim's Last Moments**

Victim was struggling, but not in a fight.

**7\. Shower**

The shower was still on when the body was found. Showerhead was pointed at the door.

**8\. Energon Splatter**

Energon splatter was found on bathroom walls and shower cubical. Rewind notes that they look slightly strange.

**9\. Pink Stains**

Pink stains were found on victim's body.

**10\. Can of Pink Paint**

A can of pink paint was found near the closet spilled over.

**11\. Missing Page**

Notebook in victim's drawer was missing a page.

Found in Skywarp's room.

**12\. Shockwave's Injector**

Shockwave's injector which he uses to feed himself. Found inside a fireproof box that was locked and was empty.

**13\. Origin of Fire**

Fire was started in the kitchen.

**14\. Mirage's Testimony**

No one at the poker table left the room.

**15\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Skywarp left the room at about 8:30.

**16\. Perceptor's Testimony**

Was on the fourth floor the entire time. No one else came to the floor.

**17\. Soundwave's Testimony**

Helped fix the groundbridge this morning with Hoist and tested it himself.

Was on the fifth floor the entire time. No one else came up there.

**18\. Groundbridge Log**

Groundbridge was used 8 times.

**19\. Nail in Vent**

One of the nails in the groundbridge vent is brand new.

**20\. Missing Nail**

One of the nails in the tool room is missing.

**21\. Dead End's Testimony**

Saw Shockwave steal a portion of the acid during the first day. Noted that victim was planning on killing Skywarp on the fifth day.

Was at the party the whole time until he helped discover the body.

**22\. Energon Test**

Ratchet and Scavenger conducted a test comparing regular, bodily, and low-grade energon. From brightest-to-lowest: low-grade, regular, and bodily.

**23\. Shockwave's Injection Cycle**

Shockwave injects every 25% of energon every 15 minutes.

**24.** **Location of fireproof box**

Normally found in the closet, it was found in one of the kitchen cabinets.

**25.** **Acid Effects**

Acid melds with substance until it evaporates in thirty minutes.

* * *

_Court is now back in session!_

* * *

Make an accusation!

Jazz

Brawl

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

Counterpunch

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

Vortex

Nightbeat

**Soundwave**

* * *

"Soundwave," Nightbeat accused as he glanced right next to him, "you're the one who murdered Shockwave."

The silence came to the courtroom as Nightbeat's accusation suddenly reached their mind, trying to comprehend it.

"That's impossible," Perceptor said first. "He was right above me the entire time. I can confirm that he didn't come down."

"That's because he didn't use the stairs," Nightbeat told him.

"What? Explain yourself!"

"Yes, how could I have gone down there?" Soundwave asked in Thundercracker's voice. "Perceptor and everyone else can acknowledge that I didn't leave the fifth floor."

"Alright, let me tell you," Nightbeat said.

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram!_

_/ _/ _/ _/

_/ _/ N/ _/

V/ _/ N/ _/

V/ E/ N/ _/

V/ E/ N/ T/

NIGHTBEAT: This is it!

* * *

"The vents were used," Nightbeat told him.

"You think I can fit in them?" Soundwave asked.

"Hah, that's impossible. Trust me, I tried earlier," Wildrider told them.

"He ended up getting stuck and I had to pull him out," Dead End told them.

"Hey, you weren't supposed to mention that!"

"Will you shut up?" Mirage asked them, getting a headache. "Now then, Nightbeat, how could Soundwave have possibly used the vents?"

"I didn't say that he used them," Nightbeat told him.

"Hmm?"

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram_

_/ _/ _/

_/ E/ _/

P/ E/ _/

P/ E/ T/

NIGHTBEAT: This did!

* * *

"He used Laserbeak to go through the vents," Nightbeat answered.

"Hmm, I've heard ridiculous ideas before, but that nears the top of the list," Mirage said. "Even Wheeljack gives saner ideas than that."

"He may have a point," Onslaught said.

"No he doesn't. This is ridiculous," Bumblebee shot back.

"It's certainly a hard concept to swallow, but Laserbeak is capable of impresssive feats," Mirage muttered, staring at the pet attached to Soundwave's chest.

Nightbeat didn't feel good about this. He needed to prove that Laserbeak was used to help Soundwave with the murder and fast.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available:

Missing Nail

Nail in Vent

Victim's Last Moment

Groundbridge Log

Signs of Struggle

BUMBLEBEE: How the frag could Laserbeak help with the murder?

BUMBLEBEE: _**Did it somehow wield a knife?**_

BLURR: It just seems outlandish.

BLURR: How could it **cause knife wounds**?

ONSLAUGHT: **_Maybe the room wasn't its intended target_.**

HOUND: **_Maybe it went to get something_.**

VORTEX: It could've been **_stealing something from someone else's room_.**

MIrage: I feel like the answer was said by one of you...

MIRAGE: ...but who?

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I agree!

Ammo used: Groundbridge log

* * *

"Onslaught is correct. The room wasn't the target of Laserbeak. It was the groundbridge. Hoist put up a memory cache to record usage of the groundbridge and it was used eight times that day, not including the time Hoist and Soundwave tested it," Nightbeat told them. "Last I checked, no one else used it. If I'm wrong, correct me." No one did.

"This is still a bit far-fetch. Is there any proof that the groundbridge was the intended target?" Perceptor asked.

"Yes, there is. Two in fact," Nightbeat told him.

"Two?"

"Yes, and they are…."

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear file

2\. Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony

3\. Hoist's Testimony

4\. Skywarp's Testimony

5\. Signs of a Struggle

6\. Victim's Last Moments

7\. Shower

8\. Energon Splatter

9\. Pink Stains

10\. Can of Pink Paint

11\. Missing Page

12\. Shockwave's Injector

13\. Origin of Fire

14\. Mirage's Testimony

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Perceptor's Testimony

17\. Soundwave's Testimony

18\. Groundbridge Log

19\. **Nail in Vent**

20\. **Missing Nail**

21\. Dead End's Testimony

22\. Energon Test

23\. Shockwave's Injection Cycle

24\. Location of Fireproof Box

25\. Acid effects

* * *

"One of the nails in the vent in the groundbridge room had a new nail in it and one of the nails in the tool room was missing. Hound can confirm that that there were 364 nails last he check and there are now 363. Laserbeak probably broke the nail in the groundbridge while breaking in, causing Soundwave to have to use a new one to repair it," Nightbeat explained.

**THAT'S FALSE!**

"That is quite the imagination you got there," Soundwave said, "but that's all that is. Hoist may have been wrong about the amount of nails there were when he last check. The nail could've been broken before we came in and the headmaster fixed it right before we came. None of what you've said is definitive proof. Only circumstantial."

"It's enough to cause suspicion," Nightbeat reminded him.

"And that's it while Skywarp is by far the more suspicious one. We have definitive proof he was there. Thinking I did it is a waste of time."

"I don't think so," Nightbeat growled at him.

"Huh, how pathetic. Unless you have proof that SKywarp didn't stab him, there is no point in continuing this further."

* * *

Cross swords battle!

Swords available:

Monobear file #1

Signs of Struggle

Shockwave's injector

SOUNDDWAVE: This is a foolish assessment.

SOUNDWAVE: Skywarp came into the room.

SOUNDWAVE: He admitted it.

SOUNDWAVE: A note beckoned him to come.

SOUNDWAVE: There is no doubts that he had to be the one who killed him.

…

Development

…

NIGHTBEAT: I'm not doubting that he entered Shockwave's room.

NIGHTBEAT: What I'm doubting is if he found him alive.

SOUNDWAVE: Is there any doubt?

SOUNDWAVE: Skywarp did as the note asked.

SOUNDWAVE: Shockwave confronted Skywarp.

SOUNDWAVE: Skywarp was afraid for his life.

SOUNDWAVE: **He stabbed Shockwave to death.**

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That claim is wrong!

Sword used: Monobear file #1

* * *

"There is doubt to Shockwave dying by being stabbed," Nightbeat informed him. "Cause of death was listed as exsanguination."

"That is an incredibly flimsy excuse to rebuttal with," Soundwave remarked.

"Maybe, but it's still didn't list being stabbed as the cause of death. We only listed the stab wounds after Knock Out found them and we've already guessed that most of them were probably delivered postmortem."

"So, what is the point you are making?"

"I'm saying, what if he was bleeding out **internally**?" Nightbeat asked.

"Internally?" Soundwave asked.

"Yes," Nightbeat confirmed.

"So he was beaten to death?" Beachcomber questioned.

"No, but I think I know what did kill him," Nightbeat said.

* * *

Epiphany Anagram!

_/_/_/_/

A/ _/ _/ _/

A/ C/ _/ _/

A/ C/ I/ _/

A/ C/ I/ D/

NIGHTBEAT: This killed Shockwave!

* * *

"The missing acid was used to kill Shockwave," Nightbeat told him.

"That is insane! I love it!" Wildrider exclaimed. "I'm for it!"

"Soundwave would dare kill Shockwave in such a dishonorable way?" Bludgeon asked.

"Welcome to murder 101," Knock Out muttered. "Still, did he actually do it?"

"He could. Hoist did say that he gave Shockwave's his injector full of energon. What if it was tamper with?" Onslaught told him.

"This doesn't make any sense," Soundwave told them. "This is all still circumstantial."

"I thinking it isn't," Nightbeat told him. "You staged the fire so we all think that you were hiding the stab wounds when in actuality you were using it to lure us away from the acid that you fooled Shockwave in using. That's why he put the injector in the box. He was preventing you from disposing of the murder weapon!"

"This is not proof," Soundwave kept calmly saying.

"Soundwave, said that to me in my face instead of behind a mask!" Nightbeat told him. Soundwave stared at him, unmoving. Nightbeat wondered if he would do what was requested of him before the glass part of the mask lifted up, revealing Soundwave's and his mysterious purple eyes staring at him.

"What you have said is not proof and never will be," he informed him in his actual voice, sounding rough, like sandpaper.

"Quick question: you were watching the cameras of our games right?" Nightbeat asked.

"Correct."

"Then tell me who was first eliminated from the poker table."

"Blurr."

"How?"

"Scavenger eliminated him."

"With what?"

At that, Soundwave hesistated, not knowing how to answer that, before finally answering, "Four of a kind," he told him.

"That's wrong!" Smokescreen shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "He was taken out by a royal flush. If you really watched that hand, you would've known because we all made a big deal out of it."

"That's just a lapse in memory," Soundwave told them.

"Fine then, some more questions. Who went up against each other in the third match of pool?" Nightbeat asked.

"Jazz and Dead End."

"Who won?"

"Dead End"

"Which pocket?"

"Corner."

"How many balls did Jazz knocked in?"

Once again, Soundwave hesitated before he answered. "Four."

"Actually, it was zero," Jazz informed him. "Dead End is a pool shark."

Soundwave flinched at that before quickly regaining his composure. "Is that it?" he asked them. "I'm guilty because I answered a couple of questions wrong?"

"No, but it means we're less likely to believe you," Nightbeat informed him.

"Hmm, I guess that's fair," Soundwave agreed, seemingly unaffected by Nightbeat's question, even though several people around the room were now thinking he did it. "Now, I think it's time to get back to discussion of who the real murderer is."

"Soundwave, it could've only been you now accept your defeat," Nightbeat told him.

"Like I've said before, it's only circumstantial. Nothing is definitive," he informed him.

Nightbeat gritted his teeth in annoyance at the mostly silent con's persistence, but relented. It looked like another debate was sparking up amongst everyone else.

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo available:

Monobear File #1

Signs of a Struggle

Energon Splatter

Showerhead

Victim's Last moments

BUMBLEBEE: Can we put these **theories to rest**?

BLAST OFF: Agree.

BLAST OFF: **Skywarp had to have killed Shockwave.**

BLAST OFF: **Nothing suggests it was acid** that killed Shockwave.

CHROMEDOME: It's still suspicious.

CHROMEDOME: **Maybe Soundwave did poison Shockwave.**

BLAST OFF: And you are foolish to believe that.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: You're wrong!

Ammo used: Victim's Last Moments

* * *

"Chromedome said that Shockwave was struggling, but not in a fight in his final moments."

"I did, correct."

"We've all assume that it was because he bleeding out from knife wounds, but what if it he was bleeding out because of the acid?"

"That could be true," Blast Off agreed. "You known, assuming Soundwave is the killer and wanted us to assume Shockwave was stabbed, maybe he could've left some evidence behind?" Blast Off asked.

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo available:

Signs of Struggle

Showerhead

Monobear File #1

Energon Splatter

Shockwave's Injector

BLAST OFF: If acid was used…

BLAST OFF: than it makes sense to **fake a struggle**.

BRAWL: **_Like the energon splatter_.**

NAUTILATOR: **But we didn't find any cubes** in Shockwave's room.

BLURR: **That doesn't matter**.

BLURR: If you wanted to fake a struggle…

BLURR: You wouldn't **leave a bunch of cubes behind** to disprove that.

KNOCK OUT: It's covering your crime 101.

* * *

Nightbeat: I agree!

Evidence used: Shower

* * *

"Remember the showerhead? It was still on. He used that to prevent the fire from entering the room so that the energon could be used to indicate a sign of a struggle."

"There you go again with circumstantial evidence," Soundwave exasperated. "Shockwave was cover in paint. It makes sense that he would use the shower to rinse it off. "

"Would he point it at the door?" Nightbeat asked.

"No, he wouldn't" Onslaught agreed. "The killer positioned it so that the fire would be unable to reach the bathroom."

"The door was closed too," Rewind noted. "He could've used that to help block the fire."

"Nightbeat," Bumblebee said, "the low-grade energon splatter. Can you tell us when he got it? I was on energon duty before the party on the fourth floor, with Perceptor keeping watch of the floor during the party. Swindle and Smokescreen were watching the third-floor during the preparations and the party prevented him from getting it. So tell me, how did he procure it?"

* * *

_Logic dive!_

#1: What was used to fake the energon splatter?

Low-grade

B. Regular Energon

…..

**A. Low grade**

…

#2. How did he get it?

A. Stairs

B. Groundbridge

…

**B. Groundbridge**

…

#3. Where did he get it?

A. Fourth Floor Lounge

B. Third Floor lounge

…

**A. Fourth Floor Lounge**

NIGHTBEAT: I got it!

* * *

"He used the groundbridge to procure it from the fourth floor during the party," Nightbeat told him. "It's the only time he could've got it without being spotted."

"That makes sense," Bumblebee agreed. "Assuming that's true, what was the order of the locations he went to?"

"The order?"

Yes. We can hazard guesses that the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th, was him entering the groundbridge room and the 8th, was used to take him back to the A/V room. What rooms did he go to for the 2nd, 4th, and 6th teleport?"

"Hmm, that's easy, just some simple deduction could figure that out," Nightbeat told him.

* * *

_Logic dive!_

…

#1: Where did Soundwave go during the 2nd teleport?

A. Shockwave's room

B. Fourth Floor lounge

C. Tool room

…

**B. Fourth floor lounge**

…

2\. Where did Soundwave go during the 4th teleport?

A. Shockwave's room

B. Tool Room

C. A/V Room

…

**A. Shockwave's room**

…

#3. Where did Soundwave go for the 6th teleport?

A. Back to the lounge

B. A/V room

C. Tool Room

…

**C. Tool Room**

Nightbeat: This is it.

* * *

"He went to the lounge first to get the low-grade follow by Shockwave's room to plant the evidence and set fire to the room using the excess low-grade. He would have gone back to the A/V room during the sixth teleport if he hadn't realize that Laserbeak screw him over by accidently breaking one of the nails, rendering it unusable. He use the 6th teleport to head to the tool room to get the nail to place it in the broken one's place to hide the fact," Nightbeat told him.

"That sounds reasonable," Bumblebee agreed.

"Don't humor his outlandish assumptions anymore that you have to," Soundwave ordered, glaring at the yellow annoyance. "While what he says is feasible, it still unlikely."

"To be honest, I'm surprise you got it done so quickly," Nightbeat told him.

"Oh," Soundwave said. "What do you mean by that?"

"He means he's surprised you got it done in the 45 minutes you had," Onslaught told him.

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of 15," Nightbeat told him.

"What?"

"Think about it, it's pretty obvious he's been setting up Skywarp for the fall the whole time. Do you find it coincidental that the time the note asked for Skywarp was during the party?"

"Explain yourself!"

* * *

_Logic Dive!_

…

#1: What was used to set Skywarp up?

A. Energon Splatter

B. Missing Page

C. Can of Pink Paint

…

**B. Missing page**

…

#2: Why did the note asked for Skywarp to come at 8:30?

A. To have a meeting

B. To make him have no alibi

C. To ask for dating tips

...

**B. To make him have no alibi**

…

#3: Who wrote the note?

A. Soundwave

B. Monobear

C. Shockwave

…

**A. Soundwave**

…

#4: How did he know Skywarp would do as the note said?

A. His Instincts

B. Laserbeak

C. Security Cameras

…

**C. Security Cameras**

NIGHTBEAT: This is how!

* * *

"Soundwave is very crafty, I'll have to give him that much. He faked the note to make it look like Shockwave wrote it. Probably wrote it after the lunch, because that's when the party was announced. He placed it on Skywarp's door and waited for the party to come. Once the party started, he watched Skywarp's movements using the security cameras he hacked into until he teleported away to ensure Skywarp had no alibi."

"That crafty glitch spawn!" Brawl shouted.

"There is no proof that I wrote the note," Soundwave told him.

"Correct, there isn't, but it's still highly coincidental," Nightbeat told him.

"Therefore circumstantial. It does nothing to proof I did kill Shockwave," Soundwave told him, although it sounded like the room was split, people unsure of who to actually vote for. "This has been a spectacular waste of time. Let's move on to the actual vote," Soundwave told the group.

"No, not until you admit that you killed Shockwave!" Nightbeat exclaimed. "You also had to have wrote that note as Shockwave had no reason to!"

**I OBJECT TO THAT!**

"You are thinking too highly of Shockwave," Soundwave lectured to him. "You are forgetting the obvious reason that Shockwave would want to ask Skywarp to his room."

"What is it?"

"Isn't it obvious? To kill him, of course," he told him. "Now, let me explained to you why that is so."

* * *

Cross Swords Battle!

Swords Available:

Perceptor's Testimony

Hoist's Testimony

Soundwave's Testimony

Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony

Dead End's Testimony

SOUNDWAVE: Shockwave was planning on killing Skywarp.

SOUNDWAVE: He wrote the note and placed it on Skywarp's room.

SOUNDWAVE: Skywarp came in just as he was ordered to.

SOUNDWAVE: Shockwave tries to kill him.

SOUNDWAVE: He fails and gets killed instead.

…

DEVELOPMENT

…

NIGHTBEAT: While that could've been true...

NIGHTBEAT: there's something to suggest he would've hold out on that.

SOUNDWAVE: What is it?

SOUNDWAVE: **Shockwave wanted to kill Skywarp**.

SOUNDWAVE: They both wanted to get out of here.

SOUNDWAVE: Shockwave to Cybertron and his freak experiments.

SOUNDWAVE: Skywarp to his trinemates.

SOUNDWAVE: Shockwave wanted to kill Skywarp.

SOUNDWAVE: **On this day.**

SOUNDWAVE: Nothing else is there for us.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I'll cut that down!

Sword used: Dead End's Testimony.

* * *

"Today is the fourth day we've been in here. Dead End told us that Shockwave's was going to kill Skywarp **on the fifth!** "

"That doesn't matter. He just decided to move it up a day," Soundwave told him, nervous.

"Actually it does, considering the fact there is a party here. If Skywarp died outside the party, he would be a prime suspect, so he had no reason to move it up a day. It would be illogical of him to do."

"But… but…"

"There is nothing to argue about that! Shockwave built his life around logic so he wouldn't do something as stupid as this," Nightbeat told him. "Give it up!"

"No! If you vote for me, then we'll never see another day except for Skywarp and he would get away with murder," Soundwave told him, losing his calm demeanor. "We'll all died because of that stupid prankster."

"Nightbeat, if you have any decisive evidence to show Soundwave's the murderer, now's the time to use it," Ratchet told him.

"Shut it!" Soundwave yelled out. "There is no decisive evidence that shows I am the murderer, because I'm not the murderer!"

Nightbeat silently agreed with Ratchet. It hurts to have to do this, but someone must die in order for everyone else to live and it would have to be Soundwave.

* * *

_Machine Gun Talk Battle!_

Ammo Available:

Shockwave's Injection Cycle

Shield X6

SOUNDWAVE: There is no decisive evidence that I'm the murderer!

Shield X5

SOUNDWAVE: Why are you not suspicious of Skywarp!?

Shield X4

SOUNDWAVE: Skywarp killed him with a knife!

Shield X3

SOUNDWAVE: I'm innocent!

Shield X2

SOUNDWAVE: Nothing about what you say makes sense!

Shield X1

SOUNDWAVE: This is all nonsense!

_Shield destroyed!_

SOUNDWAVE: **There is nothing to prove that there was acid in Shockwave's injector!**

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: Yes there is!

Ammo Used: Shockwave's Injection Cycle

* * *

"Shockwave injects every 25% of his energon into his body every fifteen minutes. When we found the body at 8:45 P.M., the injector was empty. Skywarp found him dead at 8:30. You gave him an injector full of energon just before the party started at around 8. So, when we found the injector, why was it empty?"

"Maybe he didn't follow protocol?" Soundwave offered, shaken.

"That would be strange if Shockwave disregarded his cycle at the exact time frame he was murder," Nightbeat told him. "He's never gone off schedule before."

"That would explain why we found the injector in the box," Skywarp said.

"And why he started the fire in the kitchen. To try to get rid of the damning evidence," Swindle said. "Considering the amount of cabinets there, he probably start it there as it was the most likely place of the injector, but he didn't want to risk getting caught not being in the A/V room if anybody came to check up on him."

"As it stands, the reason why the injector is empty…"

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear file

2\. Bludgeon and Nautilator's testimony

3\. Hoist's Testimony

4\. Skywarp's Testimony

5\. Signs of a Struggle

6\. Victim's Last Moments

7\. Shower

8\. Energon Splatter

9\. Pink Stains

10\. Can of Pink Paint

11\. Missing Page

12\. Shockwave's Injector

13\. Origin of Fire

14\. Mirage's Testimony

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Perceptor's Testimony

17\. Soundwave's Testimony

18\. Groundbridge Log

19\. Nail in Vent

20\. Missing Nail

21\. Dead End's Testimony

22\. Energon Test

23\. Shockwave's Injection Cycle

24\. Location of Fireproof Box

25\. **Acid effects**

* * *

"...is because of the acid. It's the only reason why the injector was empty. Is there any reason to be against this?" Nightbeat asked.

"Uh…uh…." Soundwave grunted.

"One more question," Dead End said. "When was the acid stolen from Shockwave?"

* * *

When was the acid stolen?

A. In the morning

B. In the afternoon

C. Right before the party

D. During the party

…

**A. In the morning**

* * *

"In the morning, during the first groundbridge usage. He probably figured out that Shockwave had the acid by using the cameras and stole it during the test run of the groundbridge."

"That makes sense," Dead End agreed. "Alright then, finish this."

Nightbeat gave a quick nod of his head and began explaining.

* * *

_Climax Inference!_

_Chapter 1:_

_This plan for a murder started on the first night. However, it was not the one that carried out by this trial's culprit. Instead, it was being planned out by Shockwave, the victim of this incident. He went into the Science Lab and stole some of the acid that Mixmaster had created. He was planning on use this later on day 5 to kill Skywarp so that he may escape. His theft was almost perfect. However, he wasn't the only one up that night as Dead End was as well and spied on him as he stole the acid. After Shockwave got the acid, both went back to their rooms, Dead End being undected by Shockwave._

Chapter 2:

This morning, everyone was following the same schedule they had been following, except for one person: the culprit. During that morning, they helped fix the groundbridge with Hoist and used it for a test run. However, the test run had a hidden purpose. The culprit set the destination and entered it to go into Shockwave's room and steal the acid Shockwave had stolen before and a piece of paper from his notebook and subspace it to hide it from Hoist as he came back through the groundbridge.

Chapter 3:

That afternoon, Smokescreen announced a party co-opted by him and Swindle. Sensing the perfect opportunity to commit the murder and have a fall-guy, the culprit wrote a note in Shockwave's hand-writing on the piece of paper he stole from Shockwave's room and planted at on Skywarp's door, planning on using him as the scapegoat instead of a victim, as Shockwave intended for him to be. Having Skywarp alive was crucial for his plan, as Skywarp's teleporting ability left him as the perfect person to pin the blame on and it would make it less likely that anyone would think the groundbridge was used.

Chapter 4:

Right before the party began, the culprit did a request for Shockwave, getting him an injector full of energon. Shockwave always followed a schedule and the culprit knew it, which he used to his advantage. There was a surprise in that; it was laced with Mixmaster's acid. Once the door closed and Soundwave walked away under the watchful eye of Hoist, Shockwave did exactly what the culprit thought he would do and injected himself with the poisoned energon.

Chapter 5:

Not having long left to live, Shockwave quickly put the injector in the fire-proof box in the closet, getting covered in Skywarp's paint that he left there for when Shockwave open the closet door. Not wishing for the device to be found by the killer, he quickly put it in one of the kitchen cabinets, as the load of cabinets would make it difficult to find it. Not long after, Shockwave promptly died from the acid destroying his insides, having ensure the evidence that would lead to his killer's conviction was saved. Shockwave always used the same pattern when ingesting his energon, which meant there was plenty left in the injector. However, when we found it later, it was empty. That was due to the acid's special side-effects, dissolving the liquid and making it evaporate until there was nothing left in the injector. 

Chapter 6:

At 8:30, the party was in full swing, minus a few participants, including the killer. Skywarp left the party at that time, under the guise that he was mad at being beat by Knock Out, setting the culprit's plan in motion. The culprit stayed on the A/V floor on the fifth room to give himself an alibi for the murder and keep an eye on the party to see if Skywarp would do as he was told. When Skywarp left, he acted quickly, opening the vent in the A/V room's side room and sending his pet in there to the groundbridge room. Once there, the pet set the coordinates to the A/V room and the culprit entered the groundbridge room without arousing the attention of Nautilator and Bludgeon in the lunchroom. He quickly set a coordinate to the fourth floor lounge and grabbed as much low-grade he could carry from there to engage in his plan to incriminate Skywarp.

Chapter 7:

As he was doing that, Skywarp teleported inside Shockwave's room. Upon reaching it, he quickly found Shockwave's body. Scared that he would be accused of his murder if he told anyone about this, he retreated, teleporting back to his room to stay until he could brave coming out again. All this was a part of the killer's trap to incriminate Skywarp for Shockwave's murder.

Chapter 8:

The culprit entered Shockwave's room with the low-grade he had after Skywarp retreated to his room. He took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Shockwave's corpse with it several times in the front and flipped it over, covering the wounds. After that, he smashed Shockwave's eye to make it look more convincing that he got in a fight. He put the knife back and went to the bathroom with the low-grade. He splatter the walls and shower cubical with it and turned the shower on to help keep those around for the next part of his plan. All of those was to make a fake crime scene to make it look like he was fighting his killer to the death rather than simply being poisoned. A very clever ruse.

Chapter 9:

He closed the bathroom door and began the next part. He used all the excess low-grade with him and set it up to make a large fire. He searched for Shockwave's injector, but realized that he must've hidden it somewhere. Realizing that anyone could check up on Shockwave or the A/V room at anytime, he made it so that the fire would start in the kitchen, the most likely place of the injector, to destroy the evidence. He probably want to destroy the injector himself, however, he was working on probabilities. With so many people around, it would've been easy for anyone to go to the A/V room and destroy his alibi, meaning he couldn't afford to waste time. He sent a message to his pet to send in the groundbridge and the culprit left, but not before he started the fire in the kitchen. That would've taken care of the incriminating evidence of the injector if it wasn't placed in the fire-proof box earlier, protecting it from the fire.

Chapter 10:

At that point, his plan should've been done, but there was a slight mishap. His pet broke the nails on one of the vents it broke to get in the groundbridge room, preventing him from putting it back. He quickly set a coordinate to the tool room and went to retrieve a nail in there. He came back and put the nail in place, covering his actions. He took the bent nail with him and headed back to the A/V room, where he stayed until the body was discover, giving him a convincing alibi, but not an invincible one. 

There was only one person who could've done all of this and that was **Soundwave**.

* * *

Soundwave stayed silent, still glaring down at his podium. He didn't move as he absorbed what Nightbeat had said to him. Finally, he spoke calmly.

"That is correct. I am the one who murdered Shockwave."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, surprising?


	14. Chapter 1: Execution and Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a continuity error and fixed it real quick. It didn't affect the trial at all, but it seriously bothered me.
> 
> Also, while most designs of the characters come from IDW, Soundwave is one of the few exceptions as I take his from Transformers: Prime.

The teachers stood silent at the confession of Soundwave. They hadn't expect the silent 'Con to actually say that he killed Shockwave. Before anyone else could comment, Soundwave began fishing something from subspace and pulled it out.

A bent nail.

"Who knew something so innocuous could lead to my doom," Soundwave said to himself, staring at the nail for a few seconds before letting it drop to the ground, the sound resonating loudly to the room. "I believe it is now time to vote," he told the room.

"You got that right, Sounders! Would everybody pull out their electroID? I've added a new program to it." Everybody paused before reaching for their electroID. The only ones who didn't hesitate were Soundwave and Wildrider. Nightbeat turned his on and saw the new program added to it, labeled simply as 'Voting'. He turned it on to see thirty square panels, each with a name and colored picture of a teacher on them. The only odd one out was Shockwave, who had a black and white picture with a bloody, blue X on it. Nightbeat quickly looked for Soundwave and clicked on it. His picture suddenly went full-screen with a small text window asking 'yes' or 'no' if he was the culprit. Nightbeat quickly clicked yes and the text window went away to the picture of Soundwave, now exactly like Shockwave's.

Nightbeat looked up to see most of them were already done, with a few stragglers still haven't voted. They eventually got done until it was down to Beachcomber. He was still struggling with voting until he put the device down. "No way, man. I'm not voting. This is horrible," he said.

"What! You have to!" the bear threatened.

"It's not in the school rules," Beachcomber told him, crossing his arm and looking away from him.

"He has a point," Onslaught agreed, taking pity on the small blue bot. "It isn't in the school rules so you can't punish him for it."

"I thought it was," Monobear complained, looking at the rules.

"You said attendance was mandatory. You said nothing about voting being mandatory," Onslaught told him.

"Participation," Monobear read out.

"Yes, and he has already participated, therefore he isn't required to vote," Onslaught told him. The bear looked at it with a frustrated look before saying

"Fine. His vote will be disregarded this time," Monobear threaten, "but expect another rule to be coming up after the trial ends. " Beachcomber gave a sign of relief as he put his electroID up. "Now then, time to tally the votes! Did you choose correctly? Did you –"

"Oh, get it over with," Soundwave ordered. The bear looked shock before conceding.

"Fine, everybody looked at the slot machine," he told them. Everybody looked confused until they saw a slot machine on the wall.

"I don't remember that being there," Hound mentioned.

"Anyway, let's start it up!" Monobear said. The slot machine started going quickly before it landed on three pictures of Soundwave. All of sudden, a burst of confetti and coins erupted from the machine, causing some confused looks from everybody. "Congratulations! You got it right, you slaggers! Soundwave, the Ultimate Communications Expert, murdered Shockwave, the Ultimate Logician. It was a clean sweep, too. Aside from Beachcomber, everybody voted for Soundwave, including Soundwave himself."

"Was there an outcome more obvious?" Soundwave asked.

"Probably not," the bear confessed.

"Why?" Jazz asked of Soundwave. "Why did you murdered Shockwave?"

"Shouldn't that be obvious? We all got one."

"The video!"

"Exactly."

"But what was in the video?" Jazz asked.

"That I won't tell," Soundwave told him.

"Well then, good thing I will!" the bear said as he brought out a giant screen from out of nowhere. Soundwave's face quickly formed a look of apprehension before returning to a neutral look.

The video came up to show a video clip of Soundwave working on a console with Laserbeak and Buzzsaw on his shoulders. In the background, you could see Frenzy and Rumble messing with each other and Ravage laying contently on the floor. "Awwww, look at Soundwave with all of his minicons. He cares so much about them, like he would for a protoform." Suddenly, static appeared, blocking the screen before the video came back on, showing an image of Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, and Buzzsaw laying on the floor, unmoving. "Oh no, whatever happened to them! If Soundwave wants to find out, he'll have to graduate to see them!"

The video came to an end and everybody was feeling a little sick. They had seen why Soundwave killed and it felt too private for them to intrude on. Soundwave looked unaffected by it. He just stand there, solitary.

"Now that the motive's been reveal, let's get on with the execution!" the bear shouted.

"One more request," Soundwave said as he stared at everyone.

"What, you murderer," Monokuma asked.

"Skywarp, I request that you take care of Laserbeak," Soundwave said as Laserbeak disengaged from his chest and flew around the room until it landed on Skywarp's podium. "I am sorry for framing you," Soundwave said to the prankster.

"That's okay, dude. I forgive you," Skywarp said, as he stared at the creature on his podium. It was the least he could do.

"I want all of you to make sure he treats him nicely," Soundwave ordered. Everyone gave a nod of approval. "Nightbeat."

"Yes."

"You were almost completely accurate with your assessment. Just one thing, I didn't know Shockwave had the acid from the security cameras."

"What, than how did-"

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss that," Soundwave said. "For their sake."

"Who-" but Soundwave cut him off again.

"And for the rest of you, just one more thing. The videos that we all saw? **They are all real** ," he told them simply.

With that, a chorus of questions was all asked at the same time, wondering if he was speaking the truth.

"Very well, I believe it's time for me to go. Hopefully, the rest of you can live through this and kill this vermin," Soundwave said.

"Well, since you're done, we can finally get to the first execution!" the bear said as he twisted behind him to bring out a gavel. Suddenly, a small podium came out of the floor with a big, red button at the top of it. Monobear brought his arm up and brought the gavel down on the button with a loud bang.

* * *

_GAME OVER_

_Soundwave has been found guilty_

_Commencing execution_

* * *

_Soundwave stood stock still as the judgment had been given. He seemed to have accepted his fate with an eerie calm. The others were staring, waiting to see what happens._

_Without warning, two chain came out of wall and latched on to his right wrist and right ankle and pulled hard. Soundwave didn't have much time to react as he was quickly pulled to the wall, impacting hard._

_Soundwave stayed in mid-air, hanging from the chains. Soundwave wondered what the point of the chains was when he heard the distinct sound of a portal opening._

* * *

_THE PROBLEM WITH PORTALS_

* * *

_Soundwave quickly flicked his gaze over to the forming portal right above the debate circle. Most of the onlookers were wondering what was going on as more chains came from the portal and wrapped themselves around Soundwave's left wrist and ankle and started pulling him towards it._

_The chains from the wall didn't try to pull as Soundwave dragged towards the portal. Right before he reached the portal, the chains from the wall started pulling again, bringing Soundwave to a halt right before the portal._

_The chains proceeded to play a game of tug-of-war with each other, with the chains from the portal slowly winning as Soundwave was dragged closer and closer to the ominous green light. Slowly he began entering the portal._

_Everyone watched as Soundwave was gradually entering the portal. He was a quarter a way there; then he was a halfway there._

_And then the portal closed._

_One half of Soundwave was on the other side of the portal._

_The other side was with the onlookers as the body started pouring energon on them as the chains pulled the body backed to the wall, landing with a hard crunch!_

_With that, the right side of Soundwave hanged limply from the wall._

* * *

The reaction was immediate as everyone digested the brutal display that they saw. The immediate reaction was screaming, none louder than…

"My finish!" Knock Out yelled out in anguish, as he was positively drenched in Soundwave's energon.

"Is that all you have to complain about?" Ratchet asked the vain medic, equally covered in Soundwave's energon.

"Look at me!" Knock Out complained, looking positively blue."Are we done with the trial?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Monobear replied.

"Then I'm getting out of here," Knock Out said, running to the elevator.

"Dudes, what the hell was that?" Beachcomber asked, keeping his optics away from the body of Soundwave, his body still dripping with energon.

"That was an execution, silly!" Monobear replied. "Thanks for speaking, by the way. The annoying sound of you voice reminded me of the new rule that I needed to put in. Expect it before night ends," Monobear told him.

"We should… head back to our rooms," Onslaught told everybody, his disgust for what he saw barely held back.

"Why? That was awesome!" Wildrider shouted as he turned to the bear. "You have one set up for me?" he asked.

"Of course, silly. I have one for everyone in case they commit a murder and get caught. What kind of bear would I be if I didn't?" the bear asked. "A bad one, that's what!"

"Wildrider, get help," Dead End told him as he walked to the elevator, wanting to rinse off the energon off him.

"So, that's it? We just head back to our room and pretend like nothing ever happened?" Bumblebee asked the room.

"It would appear so," Chromedome said. "Come on Rewind," he ordered, lightly shaking his shoulder. Rewind shook himself out of the dazed of seeing Soundwave die and went to the elevator, Chromedome in tow. Bumblebee stared at the two before following along.

Slowly, everyone drifted out of the room and into the elevator, leaving only three people left: Nightbeat, Skywarp, and Laserbeak. Nightbeat was watching Skywarp comfort the grieving Laserbeak.

"Hey, it's alright. He's in a better place now," Skywarp said, trying to comfort him. The minicon gave little beeping noises to Skywarp in reply. "Yes, I'm sure. Don't even say that."

"Do you need help?" Nightbeat asked.

"Uh, oh, nah, I'm fine. Hey, thanks for proving me innocent today," Skywarp told him as he continue petting Laserbeak.

"It the least I can do," Nightbeat replied.

Laserbeak gave angry beeps at him.

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Skywarp chastised.

Angry beeps.

"Yes, I know, but if he didn't, than we would all be dead. It was either him or us and their was nothing we could do to prevent it," Skywarp told him.

Laaserbeak gave sad beeps as it it huddled close to himself, lonely without it's orginal owner.

"Hey, you know what I think would cheer you up?" Skywarp asked.

Inquisitive beeps.

"You being the Ultimate Pet!" Skywarp cheered. Laserbeak looked at him blankly. "Is that okay?" he asked.

Laserbeak stood still for a moment before giving a single beep.

"Excellent! Welcome to the group!"

**Laserbeak**

**Ultimate Pet**

**Formally the pet of Soundwave, the oddly shaped minicon is one of the smallest in the Decepticon Army but follows all of its orders to the letter with ruthless efficiency. It is also pretty cute when it wants to be.**

"Are you both happy?" Nightbeat asked.

"Yep!"

"Alright, let's get out of here," Nightbeat said as he headed to the elevator.

"Don't have to tell us twice," Skywarp replied as Laserbeak connected to his chest and they both walked out of there and to the elevator. Blurr started the elevator, closing the door and leading them back to the first floor.

And Soundwave's carcass was left hanging on the wall.

* * *

Nightbeat stepped out of his room, having washed Soundwave's energon off of his body. It was nearing eleven as he walked through the halls, planning on heading to the lunchroom to snag a cube of energon before recharging the night. He reached the staircase when he heard a ruckus upstairs.

"Hound has something to show us." Blurr.

"What?" Ratchet.

"It's has something to do with those videos and Earth."

"What do you mean?"

"Come find out for yourself."

Intrigue, Nightbeat follow the two up the stairs as they enter the A/v room where the three previously mentioned, as well as Perceptor, the Combaticons, Beachcomber, Nautilator, Rewind, Chromedome, and Bludgeon. They were all about to watch something on the big screen.

"What's going on?" Nightbeat asked.

"Nightbeat, sit down and watch and your questions will be answered," Hound said as he started the video. Nightbeat quickly took a seat and watched what came up on the screen.

The video started and they were greeted with five square videos of things going on at Earth. They were labeled New York, Paris, Giza, Tokyo, and random, beautiful plain. "Aw, look at these wonderful visas on Earth," Monobear said, and they all had to agreed that the places looked god enough. All of the them had plenty of people in them, a family taking children to looked at the Statue of Liberty, a small crowd gazing at the top of the Eiffel tower, tourist looking at the Great Sphinx in Egypt, a busy commune of people going on with life in Tokyo, and lovers taking pictures on the plain, looking like a wonderful summer. Suddenly, static took up all the screens and the videos started again, but each one looked drastically different.

The monuments in the first three videos were all defile, instead showing Monobear on the faces of the Sphinx and the Statue of Liberty, and the head of Monobear taking of the top of the Eiffel Tower. The surroundings of the three were bathe in flame, leaving little unblemished. Tokyo was burning to the ground, rioters in Monobear masks destroying everything around them. The random, beautiful plain was a desolate wasteland, everything charred to a hellish black. "Oh no, what happen to Earth! If Hounds wants to find out, he need to graduate," Monokuma said, as the screen fades to black.

The impact of the footage hit Nightbeat hard as he recalled what Soundwave told him earlier.

" _And for the rest of you, just one more thing. The videos that we all saw?_ _ **They are all real**_ _."_

But, if what he said was true, than what Primus's name happened to Earth.

"What… was that?" Beachcomber asked.

"That… was real?" Rewind asked.

"Yes," Hound said. "Wherever's happening here, it's happening on a much larger scale on Earth," Hound told them.

"But, how's that possible?" Blast Off.

"I don't know. There is just one thing that bothers me," Hound told them. "I was on earth **two weeks ago**."

"But it's impossible for something like this to affect the Earth in that amount of time," Ratchet said.

"I know, but Soundwave said it was true and considering he was heading to the gallows, I see no reason for him to lie."

"We have to find more information about this," Onslaught said. "We need to search the areas thoroughly tomorrow morning for any new information about this."

"That sounds reasonable," Nightbeat agreed.

"Good. I said we adjourned for the night," he told them. Everyone agreed with his suggestion, what they saw on the footage disturbing them greatly. Nightbeat was the first out and headed quickly to his room, energon no longer on his mind. He opened his room and took laid on his recharge slab and went to sleep, with one thought on his mind.

_What was going on at Earth?_

**Chapter 1: Welcoming Party for Despair (END)**

**Teachers Alive: 28**


	15. Chapter 2: New World of Information

**Chapter 2: Hope Shattering on the Ground (Begin)  
**

**(Ab)normal Days**

**Day 5**

 

"This is an announcement. It is now 7 am. Have a wonderful day."

Bludgeon awoken to the sound of the annoying high pitch voice of the bear. He gave a grunt as he blitzed out of his room and down the steps. He would be lying if he said that the events of the previous day hadn't affected him. Before, he thought about participating in the games, but the risk of doing that proven to be too much risk. Soundwave's crime was complex and he was caught and executed. It was likely he would be caught as well and executed. It was best for him to stay back, observe the others, and help when he needed to. He didn't cooperate much with people, but this was an exception. He just needed to figure out which ones to actually trust.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and headed into the lunchroom. He quickly grabbed a cube and left the room. Of course, he wanted to isolate himself from the others for a little while as well. Everyone was bound to be on edge today. He reached the top of the stairs and headed for his room, but was stopped by a peculiar sight.

The door which blocked the way to a new section of the building was opened.

Bludgeon was confuse by this until he remember one of the rules.

4\. Available areas of the academy may be explored without limitations. More areas will be explored as time goes on.

The execution must've prompted the bear to open it. Bludgeon glared at it before walking towards it. He might as well take the risk. He entered what appeared to be a walkway. Right next to him, he saw stairs that led up and down. He looked down to see the ground that looked very similar to his. He looked up to see three similar walkway on top, matching the amount of floors on the building. His observation complete, he head down the walkway, which curved slightly to the right at a 45 degree angle. He reached the end to see the set of stairs again and an open door. Slowly, Bludgeon entered the room.

It didn't take long to figure out what the room was. It was a large, well-built room with a blue color scheme to it. There was shelves everywhere that contained datapads with a variety of different information on them. The outer sections above the first floor all had shelves on them with a catwalk at four points leading to the center where a stairwell was. In the center on the first floor were a bunch of desks where people could sit at.

The room was a library.

Bludgeon gazed at the massive amount of information around him. He knew that the attempts to preserve Cybertronan texts were mostly successful, but he didn't know they were this good. He thought for sure that eons of war would render most texts destroyed and no longer able to be read. Obviously, he underestimated them.

And it didn't take long for him to realize he wasn't the only one there. At one of the desks, he could see Dead End reading something, more than likely poetry about death of some sort, and Wildrider looking and throwing away datapads. Over in the shelves near him was Beachcomber, perusing the shelves a bit. The first ones didn't surprised him as they have always been early risers, but the second one did. He had never seen that one risen up this early before. He was suspicious of this until he noticed his movements. Slow, sluggish, not much energy. It was then that Bludgeon realize that he didn't wake up early, _he didn't sleep at all_. He must've been one of the more heavily effected of the people here. If his information about him was correct, he was pacifistic by nature and abhor violence, but still participated in the war as a soldier. Bludgeon wondered how he was this heavily affected when he participated in that conflict.

"So this is what the doors opened," he heard behind him, surprising him. He reached around for his sword, before realizing that his sword was still missing, and turned around to meet his intruder, Jazz.

"You are a quiet one," Bludgeon said, glaring at him.

"Yeah, well, I'm head of espionage for a reason," Jazz reminded him as he looked around the area. "This place is pretty nifty."

"This place is well-stocked with information," Bludgeon agreed, heading down the catwalk with Jazz following right behind him. "Perhaps we could use the information granted to us here to find out who exactly locked us in this prison."

"My thoughts exactly," Jazz said, as they headed down the catwalk. The second they reached the first floor, Bludgeon was greeted by a datapad smacking him in the face from Wildrider as he haphazardly tossed them around.

"Would you stop you careless tossing of information?" Bludgeon asked. Wildrider looked over at the dangerous being before complying with a grunt. He picked up a random datapad from ground and went over to take a seat.

"I see you two have finally discover the new area," Dead End greeted the two as he continue to read his datapad.

"Yeah, the place is pretty nice," Jazz complimented.

"You know they have human reading material here as well," Dead End told them.

"They do?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah, I found them," Beachcomber said as he brought some more datapads with him. "We're trying to look for more information about what happened to Earth."

"That's why the manic one was throwing datapads left and right. He was looking for more information on the current situations."

"Yes, correct. Thank you Beachcomber for informing me about that, by the way," he thanked the geologist.

"No problem," he said, taking a seat and slumping down in it.

"What is wrong with you," Bludgeon asked him.

"I didn't sleep much last night," Beachcomber confessed.

"Yes, why is that?" Dead End asked.

"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," Jazz told him, indicating to the others that he already know.

"Nah, that's alright," Beachcomber said, prepping himself to explain. "You see, I have post-traumatic stress disorder," Beachcomber told them. "If I see any violent scenes, I run the risk of breaking down. I was freaking out a lot when I saw Soundwave get executed and those scenes from Earth. I spent most of the night calming myself down," Beachcomber explained.

"How did that happen?" Bludgeon asked.

"Shockwave, that fragger," Beachcomber cursed. "Look, I didn't said anything yesterday out of respect for the dead, but I'm happy he died. That dude messed me up and I'm glad karma finally got around to finishing him off. He had it coming."

"Maybe," Jazz agreed, "but he was still critical in rebuilding Cybertron. Without him, we've probably been set back a couple of years," Jazz told him.

"Soundwave was also useful in the whole directing of resources scrap he always do," Wildrider mentioned. "He knew had to get stuff from places to place the best out of anyone."

"I'm surprised you know that," Dead End mentioned.

"Hey, I pay attention sometimes," Wildrider remind him. "It just that most of the time, it comes across as blah, blah, blah. It gets so annoying that I have no choice but to pay attention to what you say to keep me entertain."

"Oh no, _listening_. How terrible," Dead End snarked from beside him.

"I know, right?" Wildrider ignorantly agreed. Dead End glared at his comrade for a split second before heading back to his source material.

"Anyway, back to current affairs," Dead End said, trying to get back on track, "we've been looking at Earth sources to find out what happen over there, but so far, we've come up with nothing."

"It's kind of a bummer," Beachcomber mentioned. "You think a world-wide catastrophe would have more news behind it."

"How about any news about what happen outside?" Bludgeon asked.

"I doubt we'd find anything about it," Jazz said. "What happen outside could only happen within the past couple of days and I doubt the library is that updated," Jazz explained.

"Do you think what's happening in here could have any connection with what going on outside?" Beachcomber asked.

"I doubt it, but it's a possibility," Dead End agreed. "The fact that both events are happening at the same time could mean something."

"First rule of espionage: there are no coincidences," Jazz told him. "They have to be connected somehow."

"Probably, but how?" Dead End asked. "Why do something like this?"

"According to the bear, he says his goals are to cause despair by getting us to kill each other, but there has to be an ulterior motive behind it," Bludgeon mentioned.

"Wait, remember what we said about Shockwave and Soundwave? We said that reconstruction efforts would take longer without them. What if that was there plan?"

"Then why is Wildrider here?" Dead End asked, glaring at the manic. "Reconstruction efforts would probably be quicker if he wasn't around."

"Eh, he might be right about that," Wildrider conceded. "I'm not much help at building things."

"Yeah, that's a point, but still. There are many people here critical to the reconstruction efforts. You think they target some of us for that?"

"You know, if his goal was to cause despair, I would make sense. Less people to help the reconstruction effort would take longer and may cause despair."

"If that's correct, than why didn't they target more of us?"

"Maybe they kidnapped some of them to lessen suspicion?" Beachcomber said. "If everyone was a member of the reconstruction, it would seem very suspicious so they get others that have no involvement to decrease initial suspicion."

"That… makes sense," Jazz agreed. "If there was more people here connected to the reconstruction project, we probably would've assume something was up and not come at all."

"Which means this was nothing but a trap from the very beginning," Bludgeon finished.

"More than likely," Dead End agreed.

"We should head to the lunchroom. Everybody's probably up and wondering where we are," Jazz mentioned. "We can tell them about the new information we found."

"Let's move."

* * *

The five of them entered the room at eight. When they entered, they saw that a couple of them were already standing and getting ready to go search for them, even though Swindle was telling them they were probably already searching the new area. The five quickly grabbed there cubes and took their place at the table, noticing the gaps where Shockwave and Soundwave usually sit, isolating Hound, Vortex, and Nightbeat by themselves. Immediately, the group was asking questions and they explained to them what they had found and their hypothesis for being there,

"Wow, that's a lot to take in," Nautilator said.

"How did you already know about the new area, Swindle?" Dead End asked.

"I woke up early, at about five, and went out to see the open door. I just took a cursory look before grabbing a couple datapads on finance and heading back to my room," Swindle told them.

"I guess that explanation is acceptable."

"So, back to the point, the main reason why we're here is to stymie reconstruction efforts?" Onslaught asked.

"We think that is just a step they are making for their true purpose, which is to cause despair," Jazz told them.

"Despair?"

"Yeah, it's probably some underground terrorist group who decided to jump up into the big leagues."

"And the headmaster is more than likely one of the terrorist involved in this operation," Nightbeat answered.

"More than likely," Jazz answered. "When we get out, we have to try our hardest to stop them before they grow any bigger."

"They are probably also the ones involved with what's going on outside," Beachcomber added. "At the very least, they're involved."

"Alright, is there anything else you can tell us?" Mirage asked.

"Not that I can think of," Jazz said.

"Alright, than I say we end breakfast and searched the library thoroughly," Mirage told them. "Any objections?" Not a single person said anything. "Alright, let's go."

The next three hours was spent scouring the impressively sized library for information. At the end of it, they all convene in the center.

"So, anybody find anything?" Blast Off asked the group.

Everybody answered with a negative

"Scrap, let's all head to lunch and planned the next search better."

* * *

An hour later, they were all done, but came up with a plan to search in pairs in order to not miss anything. At that moment Bludgeon and Beachcomber were searching one side of the fourth floor together. It was mostly quiet between the two as they searched the area. Finally, one of the, spoke up.

"So, Bludgeon, why are you here?" Beachcomber asked.

"Why do you ask that?" Bludgeon questioned, not liking where this was going.

"Well, you were the trusted bodyguard for Jhiaxus until his death and you dropped off the map, never to be seen again until you showed up here. Seriously, no one should be able to keep off the grid for that long."

Bludgeon thought this through before replying. "They found me."

"Huh?"

"I was holed up inside a newly active volcano in-between Ibex and Helex. I felled asleep one day and saw a message lying next to me. They left no traces. I had to know how they found me so I came here," Bludgeon explained. "If they could find me, than the Autobots could as well."

"A take no chances kind of person?" Beachcomber asked.

"Correct."

"Ah," Beachcomber said, before he started up again "how did Jhiaxus die? I wasn't there when he was finished off. I was trapped inside Shockwave's lab at the time," Beachcomber asked.

"That… is a bit of a personal question," Bludgeon told him.

"I told you I was tortured and have PTSD. I'm sure you can handle it," Beachcomber told him.

"Emph," Bludgeon grunted, "fine. He was developing annihilation generators in a space station just above Cybertron," Bludgeon told him.

"Annihilation generators? Holy scrap!" Beachcomber exclaimed.

"Yes, I know. Anyway, the Autobots attacked and cause heavy damage to one of the generators, causing a meltdown. Within minutes, the place would blow up. The Autobots escape through the space bridge. We headed to the escape pods when an explosion separated us. I reached one, but Jhiaxus didn't," Bludgeon explained. "He was turned into particles while I crashed into the wasteland Cybertron."

"Wow, that's pretty bad."

"Yes, it was."

"Did they found a body?"

"No and for good reason. His body was crushed into particles, like I said before. It would be impossible to find anything from his corpse."

"Yesh, talk about going out with a bang."

"Quite."

"Oh, did you see the new rules?"

"New rules?"

"Yeah, look," Beachcomber said as he got his electroID out and went to the rules. "Look," he said, showing it to him.

11\. All teachers MUST vote in the trial. Failure to do so will result in punishment for the individuals who didn't vote.

12\. No one is allow to lend their electoID's out to anyone.

13\. More rules will be added when necessary.

"I understand why he included the first one, but the second?"

"Something tells me we'll find out about the meaning for the rule soon."

* * *

"Found anything," Nightbeat asked of Mirage.

"I'm looking at Earth's files on planetary cataclysms, but I'm find nothing," Mirage told him.

"Ah, shame."

"Hey, Nightbeat?" Mirage asked.

"What?"

"Thanks for solving the case," Mirage thanked.

"It's what I do. They don't call me the Ultimate Detective for nothing."

"Eh, that's true." A few minutes of silence.

"Hey, Nightbeat?"

"Hmph?"

"I don't know about this being a trap from the start," Mirage told him.

"Oh? And why is that?" Nightbeat asked.

"Because you're here," Mirage told him.

"Come again?" Nightbeat asked, confused.

"I mean, if they were going to do this whole murder mystery thing amongst all of you, why did they invite you?" Nightbeat pondered that.

"Maybe to make things fairer," he theorize.

"No, terrorist wouldn't do that. They would want to make sure that we have the highest percentage of failure as they possibly can," Mirage explained.

"What are you getting at?"

"Two suggestions. Both of them aren't pretty."

"Worse first."

"They expect you to commit the perfect murder," Mirage explained.

"What?!" Nightbeat said, shocked, nearly dropping his datapad.

"Look, you're the Ultimate Detective. That means you know everything about leaving evidence. You wouldn't leave anything for us to find," Mirage told him. "What if that was your entire reason to being here. To win this," Mirage told him.

"That is a-" He wanted to say ridiculous idea, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it makes. Who else could commit a better plan murder than him? No one, that's who. "Other suggestion?" Nightbeat asked.

"That it was hastily planned," Mirage told him. "The Headmaster would be innocent in this scenario, but what if the terrorist dispose of him and created the game we're in?" Mirage told him.

"No, that can't be it. Something like this would take several weeks to prep for. To do it simply on a whim is unlikely."

"Well then, I see no other reason to have you here," Mirage told him. "They expect to be the one that succeeds. Best try your hardest to disappoint them."

* * *

"You would think they would have more than this," Swindle complained to Brawl as he looked over the latest gossip about celebrities on Earth. "I could really care less about the type of clothes a celebrity wears, especially sense they mostly follow the same pattern. They wear a custom article of clothing from some swanky custom brand. It's almost sad how they all follow the same trend."

"I don't think gossiping about the gossip on celebrities is very productive," Brawl told him, looking through some more articles.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll continue to look- oh! Now this is interesting. I think I may have found our first real lead," Swindle told him.

"Oh?" Brawl said as he came to look. "What is it? Did a celebrity set off a nuke?"

"Nah, paparazzi would be on them in a heartbeat. Look at this headline," he ordered, turning his datapad over to show him a head.

"Opening of new school," Brawl read. "I don't see how this relates to a global riot on Earth."

"Because, it takes place at the prestigious, one-of-a-kind Hope's Peak Academy."

"Say what?!" Brawl exclaimed as he read through this. "There's one on Earth too?"

"Yep, I decided to check the backlogs to real late back and check local news in popular cities. Here you have the school, right in the 1930's."

"A few years after we made contact with the humans and the war ended."

"Uh-huh. According to this, some Cybertronians may have been involved in the construction of it," Swindle told him.

"Alright, this is pretty good, but how do we know this Hope's Peak is related to ours?"

"Read the way to gain admittance into it," Swindle told him.

"'In order to gain admittance into the school, Students must have good grades and… be exceptional in a certain field above all else,'" Brawl stretch the last part out as he realized that the schools had to be related now.

"See what I'm getting at now?" Swindle asked him.

"Yes, I do," Brawl muttered. "They have to be related with each other. There is no other way to describe why they have the same name and the same way of getting in. But the question is still how?"

"That's going to take a lot more time," Swindle answered. "Onslaught is going to be on our spinal struts for this."

"No kidding. "

* * *

After a few more hours of searching, the group reconvene and headed back to the lunchroom at 9:00 P.M. They quickly exchange what they found. Most of the information had been useless until they got down to Brawl and Swindle, who quickly disclose the information about the other Hope's Peak academy over on Earth.

"That's a good fine," Onslaught praised the two. "We finally got a lead about this place."

"All in a day's work," Swindle said with a nod from Brawl.

"So, what exactly does this mean?" Smokescreen asked. "Why is there another Hope's Peak Academy here on Cybertron?"

"And who commissioned it?" Counterpunch asked them.

"We'll have to continue this tomorrow," Onslaught told them.

"Sounds reasonable," Jazz agreed.

"Combaticons," he commanded. Each one raise their head in interest. "We're getting up at six tomorrow." Immediately, this was meant with groans of disapproval from most of them.

"Onslaught, I doubt waking up early is going to change how our search results go," Vortex told him.

"Yeah, boss. This is completely unneeded."

"Agree," Blast Off shot off.

"Too bad, we're doing it anyway. Most of you have been slacking off and I need to make sure we're all fit when the time comes to take revenge on the bear."

"Speaking of the bear, where is he? I haven't seen him all day," Blurr asked.

"Must be too busy planning to deal with us," Onslaught told them. "We should take this time to investigate as much as we can!"

"He has a point," Chromedome agreed. "He's obviously working out the next motive so we should take this time to investigate as much as we can."

"Well then, since it's almost ten, we should all go to sleep," Onslaught told them. "Especially you, Beachcomber. You don't look good."

Beachcomber, who was in the middle the middle of falling asleep, snap his head up when he was called. "Oh, thanks dude. I really need it."

"You should probably sleep in longer than usual," Onslaught ordered. "Now then, meeting adjourned."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annihilation generators are a reference to the creator of Danganronpa's other game series, Zero Escape. 
> 
> You know what to do if you got anything to say.


	16. Chapter 2: Everything's Fine

**Day 6**

Skywarp woke up to the feeling of something nipping at his throat cords. He onlined his optics to the sight of Laserbeak lightly nipping them, a sign telling him to 'get the frag up!' Skywarp gave a groaned as he lightly brushed him aside and stand up. "What time is it?" Skywarp asked as he turned his electroID on to see the time. "6:30? Ugh," Skywarp groaned as he lay back in the bed. "Screw you, birdie." Laserbeak did not take it lightly as he engaged in picking at his leg cables. Hard. "Ow! Okay, I'm getting up. I'm getting up!" Skywarp told him as he got back up and off the bed. "Happy?" Skywarp asked. Laserbeak responded by continuing to nip as his leg. Skywarp gave a quick yelp and sprinted out of the room with Laserbeak following in tow. Skywarp dashed through the tunnel, Laserbeak keeping up nicely. Skywarp ran into the library…

…and accidently throw himself over the tall balcony.

"Ah!" Skywarp screamed as he felled into the waiting arms of Brawl. Skywarp gave a few quick inhales before turning to his rescuer. "My hero!" Skywarp said with an over exaggerated sigh. Brawl promptly respond by letting go of him. "Ouch," Skywarp squeaked out as he rubbed his aft. "Was that really necessary?"

"For an idiot like you, maybe. How did you even accidently fall over the railing?" Brawl asked as he looked up. "Those things are tall."

"Laserbeak was nipping at my legs, causing me to jump a little bit. That must've given me a tiny boost."

"Yeah, that might be enough. It's physically impossible for a shorty to accidently fall over it, isn't that right Swindle!" he yelled up to the floor above him. Swindle glared through the holes in the fence before responding.

"Screw you!" he replied, before heading back to his duty.

"Man, he's been acting odd today," Brawl told him. "He seems more agitated than usual, as well as more paranoid."

"Isn't that normal for the circumstance that we're in?" Skywarp asked.

"No, he usually keeps his cool in situations. All of us are really good at keeping our cool."

"Huh, anybody else acting strange?" Skywarp asked as Laserbeak floated on down on his shoulders.

"Vortex has been acting a little more restrain lately. Doesn't communicate much," Brawl told him as he looked at the next datapad. "Hey, you want to help? Look through some of the pads over there," he said shrugging his head over to a shelf.

"Eh, I guess I got nothing better to do, since  _someone_  woke me up early today," he said, glaring at the minicon on his shoulder. Skywarp began sifting through the files on hand for the next fifteen minutes before talking to Brawl again. "Hey, how come you guys can't just turn into Bruticus and break us out of here?" Skywarp asked.

"Someone took out Onslaught's T-cog while we were knocked out. You've seen the scar, right? It's on the lower left side of his body where the T-cog usually is for everybody," Brawl told him. "He's the center of the gestalt, so we can't do anything without a working T-cog for him and there was no T-cogs in the infirmaries, so we can't do anything."

"Oh, yeah. Blast Off told me that the first day when we were here," Skywarp remembered. "These guys are very careful.

"Very," Brawl agreed. "The rest of us can still change into out alt. modes, but our weapons system has been sabotage, meaning we can't use them."

"Dang," Skywarp dragged it out. "They really made sure we couldn't do anything to get out."

"No kidding," Brawl agreed.

* * *

15 minutes later, Monobear gave a morning announcement and the library brighten with the rest of the lights back on. The Combaticons and Skywarp decided to head back to the lunchroom to get some energon. They were one of the firsts there, as only the two Stunticons, Blurr and Ratchet beat them there. The six of them grabbed a cube and took a seat in there respectful places. Jazz followed closed behind them as well as Bludgeon.

"What up?" Jazz asked as he took a seat next to Brawl.

"Just did some more investigating," Onslaught told him.

"And found scrap all," Swindle complained.

"Swindle, calm down," Onslaught ordered him. Swindle derisively glanced at him before taking another drink from his cube. "Vortex, what did you find?" Onslaught asked.

"Uh, nothing sir," Vortex told him nervously, which strike everybody at the table as odd.

"Okay, Blast Off?" Onslaught asked.

"If I had found something, you would've known already," Blast Off replied coolly.

"And Brawl?"

"Nothing, typical," Brawl grumbled.

"Alright, we'll try again once everybody gets up and has some energon," Onslaught told them.

"That is fine with me," Bludgeon told him as he finished his cube. "I think I'll head over there now and get a head start," he told them as he got up and headed out of the room.

"I'll come with you," Blurr agreed, heading out with him.

"Hmm, well, if anybody would like to leave early, go ahead," Onslaught ordered. Immediately, Swindle got up and headed out of the room. After some hesitation, Vortex got up as well, and headed out of the room.

"What is up with them?" Blast Off asked as soon as they left. "They've been acting a little differently since this morning."

"What do you mean?" Ratchet asked the sniper.

"Ah, I forgot. You weren't there. Swindle and Vortex have been acting strange since this morning. Swindle is acting a bit more paranoid and Vortex is a lot more, how should I put it… subdue," Blast Off told him. "It's certainly odd, because they were acting just like they always were earlier today."

"How odd. Maybe we can find something out today," Dead End assure him.

"I sincerely doubt it."

"Well, cynicism isn't going to get you anywhere." That caused some strange looks from the table as they realize what Dead End just said when they heard a shout from the hallway.

"What the frag was that for!" a voiced rang out. The group at the table looked at each other before getting out of their seats to figure out what was wrong. Outside in the hallway, they could Knock Out was all over Smokescreen, laying into him.

"Come on, is that all you got?" Knock Out asked with a certain sense of sadism in his voice. Before he could continue with his taunting, Onslaught was on him, jumping and holding him onto the ground.

"Calm down," Onslaught ordered as Knock Out realized what happened.

"Hey, let me go," Knock Out asked. "You didn't see his face. It deserve to have that happen to him."

"Dammit, take him to the infirmary. I'll see if I can drug him down," Ratchet yelled as he ran past the two and past the corner.

"Ah!" Beachcomber yelled as Ratchet tripped over him. Ratchet fell with a grunt on top of the geologist. Ratchet gave a groan right before rolling off of the him. "Ow," Beachcomber muttered.

"Sorry, Beachcomber. Didn't see you there," Ratchet explained in grunts.

"That's fine, man. No problem," Beachcomber forgave him.

"What were you doing?" Ratchet asked as he got back on his knees.

"Oh, I was watching the fight," Beachcomber explained. Ratchet gave a slight nod before realizing there was something wrong with that statement.

"Wait a minute, you-"

"Ratchet, get back up and help me subdue him!" Onslaught yelled as he ran past him. Ratchet gave a silent curse as he got back up and followed Onslaught to the infirmary, leaving Beachcomber behind. The two ran through the halls before arriving at the infirmary.

"Oh, h-hey!" Nautilator greeted them as they entered, a strong pair of scissors in his hands, getting ready to cut through the plastic on his arms. "Whoa! What's going on with Knock Out?" Nautilator asked.

"I'll show you if you help me get free," Knock Out told him as he struggled against the strong hands holding him still. Ratchet ignored the conversation and quickly went to get sedative. He went backed to Knock Out and quickly injected him with it. Knock Out flinched and struggle for a few seconds before he went limped in Onslaught's arms.

"Alright, Knock Out's secured," Ratchet muttered to himself. "Let's strapped him down to the bed so that he doesn't hurt anyone when he gets up," Ratchet ordered as he got some wire to bind the doctor. Onslaught laid him on the medical table and Ratchet tied it around him, securing it firmly. At that time, the others who was in the cafeteria came in with a bleeding from the mouth Smokescreen in tow.

"What's wrong with him?" Dead End asked.

"I don't know. Insanity?" Ratchet theorized.

"See, it's just like I told you!" Wildrider bragged to Dead End.

"People don't go insane overnight," Brawl said.

"May he's acting strangely for the same reason Vortex and Swindle are," Onslaught guessed.

"Dead End, too," Blast Off noticed.

"What, why?" Dead End asked.

"You told him to stop being cynical," Skywarp told him. Dead End blinked at them before he realized what they meant.

"Your point being?" Dead End argued.

"Holy scrap, something is wrong with him!" Wildrider yelled in surprise.

"Might as well add Beachcomber to the list," Ratchet explained.

"What, why?" Onslaught asked. "He looked fine to me."

"He said he was there to watch Knock Out and Smokescreen fight."

"Wait, doesn't he have PTSD? Why would he want to see that," Dead End asked.

"Exactly my point. He shouldn't even want to see it. Why did he do that?"

"Well, should we see how everybody else is doing?" Dead End asked. "I hate to imagine it, but some more of them could be acting strange."

"Worth a look," Ratchet agreed. "I'll stay here with Knock Out to make sure everything with him is alright."

"Good. Everyone, head out!" Onslaught ordered. Everyone went out, except for Smokescreen and Nautilator, the former still bleeding.

"Right, before I head out, can you make sure this isn't any worse than a few cuts?" Smokescreen asked.

"Yeah, we'll just have to do it standing up," Ratchet agreed. He turned to Nautilator, about to cut opened the plastic. "Nautilator?" Ratchet asked

"Yes?"

"Don't do anything stupid. I'll get to you in a second. I'm not risking you cutting up your tubes."

* * *

"Right, Chromedome and Rewind. I'm sure they are doing fine," Dead End confidently said. Wildrider stared at his comrade.

"Dude, we seriously need to fix what's wrong with you."

"What's wrong with me?" Dead End asked.

Before Wildrider could try explaining, the door opened to Chromedome, a large amount of data discs in his hands. "And we need to get rid of these!" he shouted, tossing them out.

"Oh, is that it!" Rewind shouted from across the room.

"Oh, no, we're not even halfway through!" Chromedome turned back and glared at him. "I'm going to be laying down some rules."

"Oh, yeah? What. you miserable being!" Rewind questioned, angered behind every word he said.

"Uh, are you guys-" Wildrider began.

"Shut it! This is personal matters!" Chromedome shouted as he closed the door.

"Rewind and Chromedome: definitely infected," Wildrider grumbled. "Those two always act like overbearing sweet-sparks to each other. I've never seen them fight before."

"I know. It is disturbing," Dead End agreed.

"Hey," a voiced said from behind them. "What's going on with Chromedome and Rewind?"

The two Stunticons turned to see Beachcomber staring at them. He looked pretty happy, standing still with his shoulders lax.

"Uh, they are having a spout," Dead End explained.

"Man, I wish Soundwave was still alive. I could use his cameras to sneak in on that," Beachcomber grumbled. The two Stunticons stared at each other.

"He's crazy," Wildrider mouthed to Dead End.

"Hey, are these Rewind's videos?" Beachcomber asked. The two glared at eacg other.

"Yes,,," Dead End hesitated.

"Oh, alright. You think Rewind would mind if I took them off his hands?" Beachcomber asked.

"Uh, at the moment? Unlikely," Dead End answered.

"Oh, okay," Beachcomber said as he scooped them up. "If you excuse me, I think I'll head on up to the A/V room and watched these. I think there might be some good snuff footage on here," Beachcomber said as he headed out to the staircase going up.

"Okay, this has gotten really weird," Wildrider muttered.

"Very," Dead End agreed.

* * *

Onslaught ranged the door to Hound's room. He and Skywarp decided to pair up for this as he was pretty sure he could tolerate Skywarp.

"And then, Starscream was all like 'Blah, blah, blah,' and Thundercracker is going 'Blah, blah, bla-blah?' and Hook finished it off with…"

He was wrong.

Finally, after an agonizing minute, the door opened with Hound, looking very sane.

"Ah, Hound, good to see you. You see, some people have been acting very… peculiar as of late. I am happy to see that you look very well," Onslaught told him.

"Why would I not be. What's going on?" Hound asked.

"We'll tell you later after we're done examining everybody else," Onslaught told him.

"Examining?" Hound asked. "Things are that bad?"

"Yes, you see-" at that point, Onslaught noticed something very weird behind Hound. A trash can was on fire. "Uh, you trash can is on fire," Onslaught pointed out.

"You just noticed that?" Skywarp asked.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong. I just… needed to start a fire, okay. Nothing wrong with that," Hound told them. The seeker and the Combaticons glanced at each other. "Anyway, have fun with whatever," Hound told them as he closed the door.

"Crazy," Skywarp told Onslaught.

"Unfortunate."

* * *

Blast Off and Brawl stood outside Perceptor's door and rang the bell. The rang was answered almost immediately.

"Ah, Brawl and Blast Off. Why did you decided to ring my room today?" Perceptor asked.

"Some people have been acting strange. We came to check up on you," Brawl told him.

"Strange? Do tell," Perceptor asked, interested.

"Well, people have been acting opposite of how they usually act," Blast Off started off. "Vortex is more subdue, Knock Out is more violent, ect. You understand," Blast off finished.

"It's been confusing us since it's started happening."

"Huh, guess I'd better start investigating this," Perceptor said to himself. "I'll head to the cafeteria real quick and then start examining them."

"Fine with us," Brawl agreed. Perceptor stepped past them and headed for the stairs. "Huh, that was easy," Brawl noticed.

"Yes, quite."

* * *

"Alright. Counterpunch. This should be good," Skywarp said as he pressed the bell.

"Yes, very," Onslaught muttered.

The door opened to Counterpunch glaring at the two.

"Hey, Counter-" Skywarp started.

"Shut up and leave me alone," Counterpunch harshly ordered followed by him slamming the door in their faces.

"He's normal."

"Very."

* * *

"What up?" Jazz answered cheerily as he opened the door to Blast Off and Brawl.

"People are acting strangely and we were wondering if you were normal," Blast Off told him.

"What? Uh, I'm normal. Still following my normal routine," Jazz told them.

"Then our conversation is done," Blast Off told him as he grabbed the door and closed it.

"What was that for?" Brawl asked.

"He's useless. We were done with him. Come, on to the next person."

* * *

"Alright, Nightbeat," Dead End chuckled. "I doubt anything's wrong with him."

"Deady, stop it," Wildrider ordered. The door opened quickly to see Nightbeat glaring at the two. "Hey, what up?" Nightbeat stared at the two before he went backed in to retrieve and datapad and wrote some stuffed in. He went back and showed it to them.

"You're voice modulator is experiencing problems?" Dead End asked.

"Yarp," Nightbeat answered before realizing what he just said and slapped himself in the face.

"Oh, I know that," Wildrider said. The two glared at him.

"What?" Dead End asked.

"He's speaking in Idiot, which I am extremely fluent in," Wildrider told him.

"That sounds riveting," Dead End replied happily. "Thanks for your assistance Nightbeat. We'll be on our way," Dead End told him as he and Wildrider walked away.

"Ove ette fige thi ot," Nightbeat told them as he closed the door.

* * *

"Yes, Onslaught and… Skywarp," Bumblebee growled that last part out upon the sight of him.

"Hey, moron. How are you today? Feeling a bit… antsy?" Skywarp teased which caused Bumblebee to ball up his hands into fists.

"I'm fine," Bumblebee relied as he calmed down. "I was about to head down to the cafeteria to get some energon. Now, if you excuse me," Bumblebee told them as he walked past them and to the stairs.

"Don't noticed anything different with him," Onslaught told Skywarp.

"Yep," Skywarp said with a grin. "So many ways to tease him."

"Now, now, do you want Bumblebee to murder you?" Onslaught asked as he headed off.

"Hmm, good point," Skywarp agreed as he followed him.

* * *

The group investigated Scavenger, Mixmaster, Hoist, Mirage, and Drift, but found nothing wrong with those individuals. After about an hour, all of those who weren't acting strangely met up in the library, where Bludgeon and Blurr wondered what was going on, while Swindle and Vortex kept to themselves. Onslaught asked if the two strange Combaticons could go have a break and the two followed the ordered quickly, leaving everybody else alone.

"Alright," Onslaught began. "What's wrong with everybody?"

"Swindle's a paranoid wreck," Blast Off began.

"Vortex is a lot more subdue than usual," Brawl agreed.

"Knock Out is prone to violence," Ratchet added.

"Chromedome and Rewind hate and fight each other," Wildrider added.

"Beachcomber is a vicarious violence voyeur," Dead End told them.

"We're pretty sure Hound is becoming a pyromanic," Skywarp told them.

"Nightbeat's speech is affected," Dead End told them.

"And, most disturbingly, Dead End is…  _optimistic_ ," Wildrider said with a shudder, glaring at the happy cynic.

"Alright, so that's all of them, but what could be causing them," Mixmaster asked everyone.

"Could this be one of Monobear's motive?" Perceptor asked.

"It seems likely," Smokescreen agreed.

"But, how is he able to do this?" Scavenger asked.

"That's the million-shanix question, isn't it?" Jazz asked.

"I don't knw, but I will look into it," Perceptor told them. "Until then, we should let all the non-hostile abnormal ones help out."

"So, Dead End, Swindle, Vortex, Nightbeat, Hound, and Beachcomber, although the last two will have to be watch constantly in case they act up," Blurr told them.

"We should also send someone to break up the conflict between Chromedome and Rewind before one of them seriously hurt each other," Jazz told them.

"That would be sensible," Bludgeon agreed.

"Good idea. Which room are they in?" Smokescreen asked.

"I think they decided to stay in Rewind's room this time," Dead End told them.

"Than I'll go break it up."

"Oh, let me up," Wildrider volunteered.

"Uh, sure," Smokescreen hesistated as he went ahead and left the room with the manic.

"Okay, with that done, we got some time to kill before lunch begans. Let's look around around the library a bit more," Jazz told them.

_To be continued_


	17. Chapter 2: Days Become Years

 

"Alright, if I was information on the end of the world, where would I be?" Jazz asked himself as he looked through some more datapads on the first floor.

"In plain sight, unfortunately," Blast Off answered Jazz's question as he was investigating a shelf near him.

"You think they could at least catalogue the damn things so we can process all of this faster," Jazz complained.

"Do you think Monobear would make this easy for us?" Blast Off asked. "He probably did this on purpose to make it harder for us to figure out what has happen."

"What a troll," Jazz complained.

"Tell me about- hmm? What's this?" Blast Off asked as he examined the wall.

"What is it?" Jazz asked as he came over to see what it was.

"Is it me, or does this look a bit off?" Blast Off asked as he pointed to a patch of off-colored walk.

"Huh, yeah it does," Jazz agreed. "Let's touch it." He quickly pressed his hand against it, causing it to be pushed inward. "Huh, guess that worked," he noted as he waited for something to happen. A holographic screen came up on the wall. At the top were the word 'archives.' Below it were buttons that said 'open," 'instructions,' and 'times opened.' The two glanced at each other at their new find.

"It looks like the library is bigger than we once thought," Blast Off noticed.

"I wonder what secrets we'll find in it," Jazz questioned himself. "Might as well go ahead and open it."

"Before you do that, it would probably be best to click on instructions first," Blast Off recommended.

"Good idea. It's strange an archive would have instructions on how to use it," Jazz agreed as he clicked on it. A new image appeared on the screen that showed the instructions. It goes as followed:

_Welcome to the Archives, teacher. As I'm sure this is your first time, let me explain quickly how this works. You press 'open' and it will ask you to wave your electroID in front of it. Once you do that, you will gain entrance to the archives. Once the door opens, it will stay open for an hour before automatically closing. Once it closes, it will auto-lock for 12 hours before being able to open again, so plan accordingly._

"We better gather everyone before we open it," Jazz said as he finished reading it.

"Quite. This is a very unusual way of operating something," Blast Off noticed.

"This guy has to be at least a little eccentric," Jazz said as he headed off to tell everyone.

* * *

Smokescreen and Wildrider arrived at Rewind's door and ranged the bell. "So, uh, how bad was it?" Smokescreen asked.

"Pretty bad," Wildrider murmured. "Be ready to use those fists of yours."

"No problem."

The door opened to Chromedome, bleeding slightly from a stabbed wound in his side and having a couple of dents in his armor. "You again," he growled to Wildrider.

"Uh, hey! What happen to you?" Wildrider asked as he glared at the hole.

"It's just a mesh wound. Rewind took a knife from the kitchen, stabbed me, and locked himself in the bathroom," Chromedome grumbled.

"Ah, sounds like a good idea," Smokescreen mentioned off-handily. "Chromedome, I think you two should stay in separate rooms for a while."

"What? Why?" Chromedome asked, surprised.

"Uh, well, you know, with the whole screaming at each other thing, the threats, and the violence, we think you two should have a little, uh… break," Wildrider explained.

"We're just hitting a rough patch, that's all. Besides, someone as weak, pathetic, and useless as him needs someone like me to watch over him and make sure he doesn't get killed," Chromedome explained.

"If you don't kill him first," Wildrider whispered to Smokescreen.

"What was that?" Chromedome asked.

"Nothing," Smokescreen said. "Look, how about this. We watch over Rewind while you stay in your room for a while," he suggested to the mnemosurgeon.

"And why should I trust you?" Chromedome asked.

"Because, we're a pair. Neither of us can do anything without the other one watching him," Smokescreen comforted. The tall 'Bot looked at the two before stepping out and gesturing for the two to enter.

"Fine. If you insist on taking care of the whining piece of scrap, go ahead. I'll be doing other things," Chromedome said darkly as he stepped away from the duo. The two glanced at each other before taking a step in Rewind's room.

* * *

"So, once we open it, we got an hour to search through it before we're locked in," Ratchet summarized.

"Correct. Everybody ready?" Jazz asked. Everyone gave silent nods of confirmation. "Alright, let's get started." Jazz pressed the open button and waved his electroID over it.

"Welcome, Jazz," a voice greeted, before turning off and leaving them to wait for a minute before the wall came down to show a room. The group entered the brightly lit room. Inside, they could see more holographic screens on five floors with stair cases on the left and right end of the room. The catwalks connected in many ways, creating a nauseating effect on them. The room was bath in a light shade of red. A door was on the right hand side, leading somewhere else. On the other end of the room was a large holographic screen.

"Well now, this seems interested," Perceptor muttered to himself.

"Alright, we got an hour before we're locked in. Start searching," Jazz ordered, as he went to one of the screens. Everyone else quickly went to a different screen and began searching.

* * *

"Rewind?" Smokescreen asked as he knocked on the bathroom door.

"Whoever it is, stay the frag away from me! I got a knife and will hurt you!" Rewind threaten.

"Hey, calm down. It's just me and Smokescreen," Wildrider tried to calm him down.

"You're a fragging psychopath!"

"Guilty as charge," Wildrider agreed.

"You're not helping," Smokescreen chastised. "Hey, Rewind? Are you okay? Did Chromedome hurt you?"

"What do you think?" Wildrider whispered.

"What do you think?!" Rewind shouted behind the door.

"Okay, you have a point," Smokescreen muttered.

"Look, you want to help me?" Rewind asked.

"Yeah," Smokescreen answered.

"Then leave the room," Rewind told them.

"What, but-"

"No buts. Leave!" Rewind yelled at them.

"Listen, Re-"

"Meh, whatever. Let's go," Wildrider told him as he left for the door. Smokescreen glared at the manic in shock before calming down and relenting. He followed Wildrider as he went for the door…

…and closed it loudly without leaving.

"Wha…" Smokescreen began.

"Shh," Wildrider hushed hi as he tip-toed over to the bathroom door. Smokescreen caught on to what he was doing and crept his way over to the door with Wildrider. The two waited in silence (which Smokescreen realized as very strange for Wildrider) for a couple of minutes. Smokescreen wondered if the door would opened when it slid opened a little bit. Wildrider leapt at the chance, sticking his hand through the opening and opened the rest of it. Rewind scooted back in shock as the manic came in. Smokescreen came in right behind him, getting a good look at him. He had some dents and was bleeding slightly from a wound on the side of his face. To go along with that, one of his optics looked damaged a bit. Aside from that, he was alright.

"What the- I thought you left!" Rewind wondered.

"Ha! Fat chance," Wildrider mocked. "Now then, will you let us help you?" he asked as he came closer.

"Get away!" Rewind yelled at them, taking a swing and nicking Wildrider's neck cables.

"Ah, dammit!" he yelled out as he bled slightly from the wound, holding a hand at it. "That feels good," he grinned with a smile. "Okay, time to play rough," he growled out. He dived for Rewind, leaping on top of him and keeping his knife hand down on the ground with one of his hands.

"Rewind, Wildrider, calm down!" Smokescreen ordered as he came into the middle of the fray. He quickly took the energon-stained knife from Rewind's hand and pushed Wildrider off of him. "Now, to get to the point of why we're here, we came to make sure both you and Chromedome didn't tried to kill each other."

"Which, as we see, is a massive failure," Wildrider commented, picking at the wound in his neck.

"Yep, and- would you stop picking at that?" Smokescreen asked of Wildrider.

"Uh? Oh, okay," Wildrider agreed, putting his fingers to his side.

"Right, I said we get him to Ratchet. He's in the library, right?" Smokescreen wondered.

"Probably," Wildrider agreed.

"Alright, than let's for lunch to come around and then we can tell Ratchet about Rewind, Chromedome and yours' wound," Smokescreen said.

"Sounds good to me," Wildrider agreed as he went back to picking his neck wound.

"STOP THAT!"

* * *

"Huh, looks like all the terminals on this floor are part of the same system," Blast Off noticed.

"Huh, it looks like it," Brawl agreed.

"You think it's the same for all floors?" Jazz asked, getting off his terminal.

"I say they are all connected to each other, every one of them," Blast Off said. "I think it would be useless to check the other floors."

"Well, that's a good thing," Jazz agreed. "This will make investigating easier."

"Right, head back to yours and leave us alone," Blast Off ordered. Jazz glared at the sniper before heading back to his terminal. He logged in and looked at it. The archives were run by a search engine and you type in to get whatever you want. Jazz typed in 'Destruction of Earth' and got a metric shit-ton of files and reports, all of them conspiracy theories on how the Earth _would_ be destroyed, and none on how the Earth _was_ destroyed. It was nothing to go on and five minutes before the door would lock itself, he got off and headed for the entrance. By that time, most of the people were done and getting off. Five minutes later, everyone was out and the door closed and locked behind them.

"Anybody found anything?" Jazz asked everyone. Everyone responded negatively. "Scrap."

* * *

At lunch today, everyone decided to come down, even the crazy ones, minus Knock Out, which kind of disturbed people. None more uncomfortable than Wildrider, who sat in between the feuding couple. Less than ten minutes later, Rewind got up and left for the second floor infirmary, telling Ratchet he would be waiting for him. Five minutes after that, Swindle left, glaring at everyone as he left. Throughout the whole thing, Hound wanted to set fire to his cube of energon. After an hour, lunch was done. Most people left, heading to the library. Wildrider and Ratchet headed to the infirmary on the second floor, Wildrider picking his neck wound the whole time.

The two entered the infirmary, with Rewind already there, waiting to be treated. "Hello, Rewind, how are you doing," Ratchet glared at the archivist, going to get some plastic to cover the wound on his face.

"Huh, alright, except for Chromedome, that slagger," Rewind replied as Ratchet got the plastic out and applied them to the wound.

"Alright, let that rest there for a while and use a buffer to get those dents out. Here," Ratchet said, opening a drawer and getting a buffer out, "use this."

"Hmph, thanks I guess, old scrap," Rewind said as he walked out.

"What was that?" Ratchet asked as he followed him.

"Whoa, calm down," Wildrider comforted, getting right in front of the medic. "That's not him talking, that's the, uh, whatever's going on with everybody," Wildrider said. Ratchet continued to glare at the archivist.

"Alright, you make a point," Ratchet agreed. "Time for your neck," he said, going to get a piece of plastic.

"Can you wait a couple of minutes? I want to pick on this for a little bit more," Wildrider asked, continuing to pick on his wound.

"NOW!"

* * *

"Ugh, back to square one," Nautilator complained as he went back to sifting through the library files. "You think we could add filters to those damn archives."

"That would be too easy," Bludgeon told him as he looked through the files. They had been at it for two hours now and hadn't found anything relevant to their goal yet.

"Unfortunately," the Seacon muttered, sliding a datapad back in its original place. "Who the heck decided to make a library this big?"

"Probably the headmaster, the one who put us here. It makes sense. He willing to give us answers, but we have to work for it."

"Yeah? Well, I'm a fan of not working much unless our lives are on the line, which it could be right now. Jury's out on that one."

"Uh?"

"Well, the amount of danger we're on depends solely on the actions of everyone else around us. That damn bear won't lay a finger on as because he's a sadist."

"Hmm, he is very much a sadist, although neither of us should be unused to working with them."

"Tell me about it. Everyone in my gestalt is a freaking sadist, except me. I mean, yeah, I don't mind inflicting pain on people, but they absolutely _love_ it. It's practically a pastime for them."

"Hmm, yes. They are quite the ferocious killers," Bludgeon agreed.

"Yeah. Ugh, how's your search going?" Nautilator asked.

"Nothing more than some old news. It seems most of the stuff in this shelf is filled with pre-war news."

"Hmph, at least you got some interesting news. Mine's just some Earth fashion magazines. I mean, look at this," he said, showing a cover page of a magazine, showing a human female with long, blond hair. "Do you want to hear about life and times of Junko Enoshima?" he asked of the samurai.

"Never," Bludgeon responded.

"Exactly," Nautilator said as he looked through it extremely quickly. "I don't understand human's obsession- woah!"

"What?" Bludgeon asked, coming over to him.

"Look what I've found out about her," Nautilator said, showing him the article in the paper.

"I don't see how this could pertain to our stru- gah!" Bludgeon couldn't finished the last sentence. "Junko Enoshima accepted into Hope's Peak academy."

"Yeah, that's what I said," Nautilator said. "You know, examining the magazine again, there is something wrong with it as well."

"Hmm?" Bludgeon asked.

"I remember some Autobots talking about the year on Earth before we left for this place. They said it was 2006 when we left. However the date on the magazine says…" he said, showing it to Bludgeon.

"2008!" Bludgeon screamed out. "But that doesn't make sense."

"I know! I don't understand it either."

"Maybe it's a typo?" Bludgeon asked.

"Maybe. Hold on to this," Nautilator demanded, shoving it in his hands. He went and got a stack of datapads, each with magazines in them and looked through them quickly. "Scrap. Scrap. Scrap! Several of these have got dates past 2006."

"Than this magazine isn't an anomaly. Earth has made its way into 2008," Bludgeon murmured. "But that… is impossible."

"We were only out for a day or two… right?" Nautilator asked.

"Maybe… we have been wrong in our assumption. Perhaps we have been knocked out for far longer than we imagined."

* * *

The hours went by, and no one else made any progress. 7:00 PM came and they all headed back to the lunchroom. Almost immediately, Bludgeon and Nautilator explained to the group about the magazines they found and how they relate to their current situations.

"But that's impossible," Mirage said, exasperated. "How internal clocks can attest to the fact that we've been knocked out for only couple days when we woke up. They have to be faked," Mirage explained.

"There was a whole collection of magazines written past the dateline. All of them had entrees in them completely written. If it were just one, maybe, but a whole collection? They all have to be real," Bludgeon defended.

"Thr crtec," Nightbeat, uh, agreed?

"Look, if this is true, this is a big fine. Think about it," Nautilator asked of them.

"Look, Nautilator, we want to believe you and Bludgeon, but the clocks don't lie," Ratchet said apologetically.

"Oh come on! We looked through the library for big finds and you're completely ignoring us!" Nautilator screamed out, disappointed.

"I don't trust anything here," Swindle said, glaring at everyone. "It could be true, it could be false. Either way, it would be a bad idea to completely discount it."

"Swindle's is right," Onslaught agreed. "Right or not, we can't completely ignored it."

"Anything else you want to mention about in the magazines?" Onslaught asked.

"Well, this is a minor bit of info, but we found someone in the Earth magazines that are ahead of the date was going to attend Hope's Peak Academy," Bludgeon told them.

"Who?" Skywarp asked.

"An Earth female by the name of Junko Enoshima," Bludgeon told the group "Labeled the Ultimate Fashionista."

"Umphf, I bet her and Knock Out would get along, if he wasn't too busy trying to kill anyone within distance of him," Skywarp snarked. Laserbeak gave a nod of agreement.

"You know, that actually gives the magazine more credence on being real. I highly doubt it was a coincidence that the headmaster put articles about Hope's Peak academy in there," Bumblebee said to the group.

"He is right," Perceptor agreed. "It's probably a clue the headmaster is giving us."

"But, if we were knocked out for more than a couple of days, than why hasn't Optimus rescued us?" Hoist asked. "If we've disappear for several years, you would think the combine forces of the Autobots and Decepticons would've rescued us by now."

"That's just another mystery we will have to add if Nautilator and Bludgeon's hypothesis is true," Blast Off told Hoist. "Well, I think we've been here long enough. How about we continue our research in the library," Blast Off asked, standing up. Everyone slowly glanced at each other before conceding with the sniper.

* * *

A couple more hours of searching the library revealed nothing and at 9:25 PM, they all met up at the tables in the center. "Well, nothing else of use except for more magazines dated ahead of the date," Mixmaster grumbled. "What a time waster. Might as well go back to the archives. It is open now, right?" Mixmaster asked.

"In five minutes," Jazz replied.

"Great, let's head over there and get ready for our second run through of it," Mixmaster said, heading towards it. He pressed in the off-colored wall and got ready to activate it. The others went over to him and got ready to go. At the strike of 9:30, Mixmaster pressed the button, wait a minute for the doors to open and entered the room.

Once again, an hour of searching yielded no results and the group regroup outside. The announcement by Monokuma was already made and they were all tired. "Augh, I'm tired. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to catch some zzzs," Jazz told everybody. Everyone agreed with Jazz, heading up with him to the second floor for rest and another day, taking comfort in the fact that no one had killed anyone that day.


	18. Chapter 2: In Wolves

**Day 7**

Onslaught woke up at a couple minutes before six, refreshed from his recharge. He quickly got up and headed out the door to get the other Combaticons. To his surprise, he saw that Swindle door near the end of the staircase was already opened. He quickly went over there and looked to see Swindle sitting on his berth, watching the door intensely with a knife in his hand. "Uh, Swindle?" Onslaught questioned.

"Ah, Onslaught. I guess you're safe," Swindle murmured, relaxing his knife a little bit.

"Are you alright?" Onslaught asked.

"I'm paranoid. I don't want anyone sneaking up on me while on recharging," Swindle answered briskly.

"Have you recharge at all?" Onslaught asked.

"No."

"Damnit, Swindle. You know that's not healthy," Onslaught badgered.

"Don't worry, I can go for at least a few more days. No one is going to kill me," Swindle told Onslaught.

"Are you even going to come out?" Onslaught asked.

"Only when someone I trust or a lot of people is around. Luckily, I trust you," Swindle said, getting off the berth sluggishly.

"You're not moving fine," Onslaught noticed.

"It's nothing. Let's go," Swindle ordered, getting off the berth. Onslaught silently muttered to himself at this predicament, but reassure himself that he would probably only be like this until someone murdered someone else. He just had to make sure none of his men were involve in either of those things.

"Alright, fine. Let's go get Brawl since he's so close to you," Onslaught murmured, heading over to get the brawler. Swindle followed behind him, looking around at the other doors in the hallway. Onslaught ranged the room and waited patiently for a few moments until Brawl answered the door, looking none the worse for wear.

"What up, boss? That time again to go searching in the library?" Brawl asked.

"Yes, it is. You and Swindle go get Blast Off while I get Vortex," Onslaught ordered as he head over to Vortex's door.

"You got it. Come on, Swindle," Brawl ordered, heading over to Blast Off's room. Swindle hesitated before following along with him. Onslaught quickly made his way over and ranged the ranged the door to the room. Almost immediately, Vortex opened the door.

"Ready, uh, if that's okay with you, sir," Vortex murmured. Onslaught really hated how Vortex was acting right now. Nervous, hesitant, asking for permission. That was _not_ Vortex. Granted, having someone's socio and psychopathic sides downplayed did have its advantages.

"Yes, that's okay," Onslaught agreed, walking to the library.

"Ah, good!" Vortex cheered, following along. The two quickly head to the library, Brawl and Swindle following with Blast Off in tow. The Combaticons quickly traverse the connecting hallway and entered the library.

"Alright, let's switch it up today!" Onslaught ordered everyone. "Vortex, you take the fifth floor-"

"Uh, Onslaught-" Swindle tried to interrupt him.

"-Brawl, take the fourth floor-"

"Onslaught…" Swindle tried to interrupt again.

"Blast Off, take the third floor-"

"Onslaught!" Swindle yelled finally getting his attention.

"What Swindle?"

"There's someone already here," Swindle told him, indicating over to the ground floor where the tall figure of Chromedome was looking through a datapad, a cube of low-grade in hand.

"What is he doing up?" Onslaught asked.

"Why don't we find out?" Brawl asked, heading to the staircase in the center.

"Alright, let's go, but be careful. We know he's been violent with what we've seen of Rewind. Tried not to antagonize him," Onslaught ordered, him and the rest of the Combaticons coming over to the ground floor. The two went down the stairs and arrived in front of the mnemosurgeon. Chromedome looked up at the two before muttering to himself,

"Cons. Great," he muttered dejectedly, before heading back to his work.

"Uh, Chromedome, how are you?" Onslaught asked.

"Fine, except for the fact that I'd hurt Rewind," Chromedome replied, walking off.

"Wait, you feel bad about it?" Blast Off asked. Chromedome stopped and looked at Blast Off.

"Yes, I do. I have no idea what came over me yesterday, but it was unforgiveable. I need to figure out why it happened," Chromedome explained. "I'm currently looking through some medical files on this."

"Wait, you're telling us you're okay now?" Onslaught asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I don't know how yesterday happened but I'm looking into it," Chromedome told him.

"But, Swindle and Vortex are still affected by it," Brawl told him.

"Rewind as well. I checked up on him this morning. He yelled several cursed words at me and threaten to use a knife makes this harder for me. I thought I'd found something, but you just ruined my theory. Thanks, 'Cons," Chromedome muttered angrily.

"Hey, we can help each other out, right?" Vortex asked.

"I guess so," Chromedome agreed, depressingly.

"I'll assist with this," Blast Off offered.

"Alright, then I'll take the third floor while Swindle takes the second floor," Onslaught told the group. He group broke up, leaving Blast Off and Chromedome behind.

"Alright, sad sack, let's get started," Blast Off said. "Where's the medical datapads at?"

"Over there," he shrugged his head over to a shelf that held many datapads. Blast Off went over there and began searching through them.

* * *

A half hour later, Blast Off and Chromedome had made little progress. The search was proving to be futile and they both knew it.

"Why the frag can we find anything?" Chromedome asked himself, getting tenser.

"Probably because this thing isn't natural," Blast Off told him. "It's probable that this is something mechanical."

"Like a device?" Chromedome asked.

"Yes, in a place that we can't reached. So it's no use trying to stop it," Blast Off chastised. "You're just better off trying to contain him."

"No! I can't. I'll find something to help him," Chromedome told him. "I'm fine for a reason and I'm going to figure out why."

"Aww, isn't that just heartwarming?" Monobear asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"You…," Chromedome growled.

"Oh, hey! How are you?" Monobear asked.

"Fixed this," he threaten.

"Uh, no can do," Monobear answered cheekily.

"Why you little-"

"Calm down!" Blast Off yelled at Chromedome, making him back down. "Where have you've been?" Blast Off asked, turning to the bear.

"Oh, you know, doing things and stuff. Watching you to make sure you all murder each other. I'm disappointed right now that nobody murder anyone yesterday."

"Is that so?" Blast Off asked.

"Uh-huh! You have no idea how disappointed I was when Wildrider and Smokescreen interrupted them yesterday. I was so sure they would murder each other!"

"Oh, I'm going to kill you!" Chromedome shouted at the malicious bear.

"Chromedome, back! You know what happens if you disobey the rules," Blast Off told him. "What happened to Soundwave will happen to you and then you won't be able to help Rewind." Chromedome glared at the two, trying to figure out what to do when he relented, backing up from the bear.

"I won't lose control and leave Rewind by himself," Chromedome growled to the bear, heading back to his datapads.

"Hmph, it appears he won't be killing anyone. You lost," Blast Off told the bear.

"Hun, whatever. There's others I can manipulate. You have no idea how many ways I can insert a knife and twist it," Monobear told the sniper as he disappeared again. Blast Off glared at where the bear was before heading back to Chromedome.

"Are you alright?" Blast Off asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he reassured him. "Thanks, you know, for that. If I lost it-"

"You didn't, now let's get back to work," Blast Off told him.

"Sure thing."

* * *

Another half-hour later, Monobear made an announcement for morning and they met up at the first floor. No one made any more progress and they headed out to the other building and made their way into the lunchroom.

"Ah, welcome! I trust you made good progress," Dead End asked them happily as they entered.

"Nope," Swindle told them as he took his seat with energon in hand.

"Oh. What a shame, but I'm sure we'll find something today," Dead End cheered.

"Yeah, he's still crazy," Wildrider told them as they entered.

"Well, it's better than most kinds of crazy," Chromedome replied as he glared at Wildrider.

"Hey, I helped you yesterday," Wildrider defended himself.

"True, and for that, I'm grateful," Chromedome agreed, as he took a seat next to him.

The group sat at the table, waiting for others to come in. At 7:30, everyone else had entered, minus Knock Out. "Did we still leave him strapped to the table?" Smokescreen asked.

"Yeah," Ratchet answered, "but I'm guessing he broke out a little while ago, so we barred the door from the outside to keep him from getting out."

"Huh, I guess that's a good precaution," Perceptor agreed.

"Anyway, everybody ready for another day of useless searching?" Skywarp asked, feeding Laserbeak some energon.

"Hey, no need to act like that. I'm sure we'll finally find something today," Dead End said.

"Maybe, but we probably won't," Drift said gloomily.

"Woah, what's with the gloom?" Dead End asked.

"I'm not gloomy, I'm just being a realist. That library is too big for the twenty-seven of us to search through," Drift told everyone.

"Ugh, I hate to say it, but he's got a point," Rewind agreed.

"Well than, what should we do? Nothing?" Onslaught asked him.

"No, I'm not saying that," Drift backpedalled, trying not to anger him. "I'm just saying, all we've found so far is the fact that another school existed on Earth and these two-" he gestured to Bludgeon and Nautilator sitting next to him, "think that we may have been in a coma for a couple of years, but that's just ludicrous."

"Hey, it's a good idea!" Nautilator yelled.

"Maybe," Drift said, "but we've still haven't figured much out."

"Well, then we need to persevere. We cannot let a lack of results stop us from continuing forth and getting answers," Bludgeon told the room. "We must continue to peruse the library."

"I agree!" Onslaught agreed, getting up. "Everybody ready to go?"

"Ugh, if you insist," Swindle muttered, getting up and heading out of the room.

"Come on, everybody. I insist that you come," Onslaught beckoned the room. Only people that got up were the Combaticons, Bludgeon, Dead End, and Nautilator. "Seriously?" Onslaught asked the room. Wildrider and Chromedome got up, slightly relunctantly. "Thank you, I guess," Onslaught murmured. "Alright, if you won't come for searching the library, at least come for the archive opening at 10:30, alright? That's three hours," Onslaught told the room. "We need to spend as much time in there as we can."

"Yeah, we'll be there," Jazz agreed. "It's the very least we can do. I'll make sure they will come," Jazz told him.

"Alright" Onslaught agreed. "Combaticons and everyone else, let's go."

* * *

"Alright, fifth floor, let's see what you got," Vortex murmured.

"You know why they paired us up?" Swindle asked him.

"No. Why?"

"Because, they think we're the crazy ones," Swindle told him, sliding through a page.

"Crazy? That's absurd. Why would they think we're crazy?"

"Because, other people have been going crazy. They don't know that _they_ are going crazy."

"They are going crazy?" Vortex asked. "That's… that's absurd."

"Absurd, maybe, but it's the truth," Swindle said, walking over to him. "We have to watch each other's back. Every single one of them, right now? Planning our downfall."

"Swindle, you can't honestly be serious, can you?" Vortex asked.

"Would I be talking to you if I wasn't?" Swindle asked. "The only one we can trust is Onslaught. He won't betray us."

"But what about Blast Off and Brawl?" Vortex asked.

"Just like the rest, although I don't think they would have it in them to murder one of us. Yeah, they'll leave us to die, but I don't think they'll murder us."

"Swindle, you need to stop being paranoid. It's unlike you," Vortex chastised.

"Unlike me? Vortex, do you know how many precautions I take when making a deal? Let me give you a hint: way too fragging many!" Swindle told him. "You always have to be wary of whether someone is going to backstab you or not."

"But, still, Blast Off and Brawl?" Vortex asked. "They wouldn't sacrifice us to get out, would they?"

"Tanks have a bit of a temper problem," Swindle reminded Vortex, "and Blast Off has always been aloof."

"Still, I don't think they would kill anybody."

"Hmph, foolish. I would stay away from them," Swindle told him.

"Oh, come on, we can trust them and I'll prove it by the end of the day," Vortex told him.

"If you want to, but keep me away from that fool's errand."

"Oh, come on Swindle. My profession is torturing people for information. If I don't kill anyone, than I doubt they will," Vortex told him.

"Hmph, valid point, but I'm still sticking to my point."

"If you want to keep that fool's belief," Vortex mocked.

* * *

"Why did you have to agree to search the library?" Wildrider asked Dead End as they continued to look through the fourth floor.

"Because, I trust in Bludgeon and Onslaught's optimism," Dead End replied.

"Deady, learn to stop being happy and optimistic," Wildrider ordered. "I could be out doing other things like getting smash, getting in lounge fights, or plotting the overthrow of all world governments!"

"Now, now, Wildrider, anarchy is not the answer to all government problems," Dead End chastised.

"It should be!" Wildrider shouted.

"Anyway, we should be concentrated on our current goal of getting information. I'm sure if you will concentrate on it, we will find something on this school."

"Deady, this place is about the size of Metroplex's fist. It's going to take forever to thoroughly search through this place."

"Maybe, but we have to find something if we want to figure out the mysteries of this school," Dead End told him. "Don't you want to know the identity of the person who's got us held here against our will?" Dead End asked.

"Yeah, so I can rip him apart."

* * *

"What do you think the two are talking about up there, boss?" Brawl asked Onslaught as they continued there searched on the third floor.

"Knowing Swindle's current state, he's probably going on about how no one can be trusted while Vortex's just listens. Nothing too serious," Onsluaght told him.

"Hmm, if you say so, but don't you think it would be wise to keep them separated?" Brawl asked.

"Maybe, but Swindle was already up there and Vortex wanted to continued up there, so there was no stopping him," Onslaught reminded him.

"I guess you got a point,"" Brawl agreed, peering through the datapads.

"Look, Brawl, nothing bad will come out of it. I can trust those two together. They worked together often enough," Onslaught told him. "They are mutually beneficial to each other."

"Maybe, but I still don't like it."

* * *

Chromedome and Blast Off searched the second floor mostly in silence, occasionally peppered with a brief sentence or two telling each other what they found.

* * *

"Can you believe what Drift said about out theory?" Nautilator asked Bludgeon as he searched through the datapads.

"Yes, I do," Bludgeon replied.

"Huh?"

"Him and the rest of the group are running on skepticism from our, frankly, minor evidence and slim connections. If we want to prove to them that we're right, we have to find more evidence, which I intend to do today," Bludgeon told Nautilator.

"Yeah, I guess you have a point… AH!" Nautilator screamed.

"What?" Bludgeon asked, coming towards him.

"I-I think I may have found something," Nautilator told him. Bludgeon, intrigued, came over to see what he saw.

"What have you found?" Bludgeon asked.

"I was searching through recent news reports and look!" Nautilator told him, giving it to him.

Bludgeon, confused, looked at the data report. "'Science Fair Blows Away Expectations.' "I don't quite see your point," Bludgeon told him.

"Read on," Nautilator told him.

"Humph, let us see.' Science fair had some of brightest youth show off their skills.' Hu-huh. Let's see, 'the event was held at former senate building in front of the brightest minds of our previous generations'. Yes, and 'the best ones came from…'" Bludgeon paused in his reading. "Hope's Peak Academy."

"Yes, that's it!" Nautilator told him.

"Uh, when we were knocked out, the building was just about to be opened. Now, according to this, not only did the placed opened, but they are actively taking place in events," Bludgeon said to himself.

"That's not the best part! Head to the bottom where a picture of the students are!" Nautilator told him. Bludgeon glared at Nautilator for not straight out telling him and slide down to the bottom, where the very sight of it cause him to be startled.

In it were a collection of young mechs and femmes, all of different shapes and sizes and, judging by the lack of scars on them, had never seen the evils of war. In it, they were posing with the teachers who helped honed their skills.

They were Perceptor, Beachcomber, Mixmaster, and the recently deceased Shockwave.

Perceptor was standing in the middle, relaxed, a small smile on his face. Beachcomber was crouched down next to one of his students, grinning as hard as he could. Mixmaster stood a bit to the left, arms crossed, and a sliver of a smile on his face. Shockwave rounded it out, standing to the right, impassive, not an ounce of emotion on his frame.

It was… odd, seeing the four of them posing together in one pic, looking pretty happy.

"When… how could a picture like this happened?" Bludgeon asked, shocked. "I don't think any of them ever got together like this before."

"That's a mystery!" Monokuma shouted, popping out right next to him.

"You! Tell us how this could've happen!" Bludgeon commanded of the bear.

"Aw, but if I tell you that, then I'll be spoiling the story and that's not fair to the watchers," Monobear said, depressed.

"Watchers?" Bludgeon asked, confused.

"What, you ever heard of a fourth wall?" Monobear asked.

"What is th- it doesn't matter! Tell me how did this happened," Bludgeon ordered.

"Patience, Bludgy. You have to figure that out, not me," Monobear told him.

"Oh, come on! Can't you at least give us a hint?" Nautilator asked of him.

"Nah, I'll let you solve it yourself. Have fun!" the bear finished, vanishing again.

"That insidious creature," Bludgeon growled out. "What does all of this mean?"

"I don't know. It's like we're given the ending without knowing what happened in-between it and the beginning," Nautilator complain, holding on to his head. "Oh, boy, I feel a head-ache coming on. Too much information coming through at one time."

"Whatever, we'll show this to Drift today and make him and his fellow skeptics choke on it," Bludgeon told the Seacon as he continued to search through the shelves. "Come, we must see if we can find more evidence of a missing time."

* * *

Time went by for the group until just before 10:30, everyone else started coming. The library people finished their search and regroup with the other people in the lobby. Everyone besides Knock Out, who was still locked in the first floor infirmary, had arrived, ready for their hourly search of the archives. Drift approached the wall and pushed in the screen, causing the screen to come up.

"Everybody ready?" he asked. Everyone gave a sign of approval. "Alright, remember, we got a hour. After that, the door closes and won't be opened for another 12 hours, which should be ar 11:30 tonight. Now, let's go," he told them as he clicked opened. Once the minute spent on the door opening, they entered and began searching the computers.

* * *

Time flew by and everyone was once again met with the same results. Quickly, the time remaining decreased at an alarming rate. 45 minutes. 30 minutes. 15 minutes. 10. 5. 3. 2. 1.

"Alright everybody, let's go!" Jazz shouted to everyone, heading for the door. Quickly, everyone made their way out. In less than a minute, the room was emptied out and everyone stood outside. Jazz took a look at everyone's face. All of them shined with disappointment. The three scientist were all staying with each other, discussing what they had found. Everyone that was in the library earlier had a dejected look on their face. Drift was sitting on one of the desks, a stern look on his face, as was Mirage sitting next to him. Skywarp was caring for Laserbeak, while Blurr was heading out of the room faster than anyone else, Counterpunch silently following behind him. Hoist stood by himself, along with Nightbeat, both having inquisitive looks on their faces. Smokescreen was talking with Hound about their lack of luck while Ratchet was wondering what to do next. "Alright, everyone, lunch," Jazz announced to everyone. "Let's refuel and meet in the lunch room.

"Uh, if you don't mind, I'll just stay by myself," Smokescreen told everyone. "I don't really feel like sitting with everyone else today."

"Yes, can I do that too?" Blast Off asked. "I'll just go to one of the lounges for energon."

"That's cool. Anyone that doesn't want to go to the library today, do whatever. Anybody else that does, let's go," Jazz told the group.

* * *

"Well, aren't we a small bunch," Jazz said as he took his seat next to Brawl. Besides the two of them, Onslaught, Vortex, Bludgeon, Dead End, Wildrider, Nautilator, Drift, Hoist, and Nightbeat was there.

"Ou cn sit ha," Nightbeat replied.

"Ditto," Wildrider agreed.

"How do you possibly understand him?" Onslaught asked.

"He's speaking idiot. I'm really good at understanding it," Wildrider explained.

"Anyway, anyone found anything useful?" Drift asked. "I'm assuming if anyone outside the group found anything, they would be here too."

"We did," Nautilator said, showing Drift the report on the Science fair. "What they frag?" Drift murmured as he slid down the report until the reach the end. "What the- But that's impossible!"

"What is?" Brawl asked, not liking being kept in the dark.

"This is a report on a Science fair, with the best ones done by the students of Hope's Peak Academy."

"So?" Wildrider asked.

"It's on Cybertron."

"What? But the school wasn't opened when we came here. It's only just got done with construction," Dead End said.

"That's not the weirdest part. Take a look at the teachers with the students," Drift said, tossing the report in the middle of the table. One at a time, everyone looked at it, all of them shocked by the pictured before them.

"What is with Perceptor, Shockwave, Beachcomber, and Mixmaster in the same picture?" Hoist asked out loud, the first to speak. "They all live in different areas and couldn't have been together at one point in time to take a pictured together."

"And what are they doing with students from Hope's Peak academy?" Vortex asked. "We never taught anyone in the school."

"Now tell me, Drift, does out theory look flimsy now?" Bludgeon asked Drift, just a tad smugly.

"I do admit, it does look viable now, but it raises way too many questions," Drift said. "What the fragged did we missed? How the frag do the four of them not remember that moment together? How do they not remember even working for Hope's Peak?"

"We'll have to find more answers for that in the library," Jazz told the group.

"Well then, is everybody refueled?" Onslaught asked the group. They all nodded. "Then let's get started."

* * *

The group arrived at the library and began searching it. The small group went through it quickly, deciding to take the whole fifth floor together. They ravaged through it for the next few hours, looking through every single datapad. By the end of it, the group had reconvened at just after six.

"Alright, so, did anyone find anything to help us, or can we rule this floor out for the rest of the time here?" Jazz asked the group. Everyone quickly reported back negatives from the floor. "Alright, let's go to the lunch room and decide what to do together."

* * *

"So, the fifth floor gave us a whole lot of nothing," Brawl muttered, displeased with the information that they didn't found.

"Unfortunately, yes," Dead End agreed sadly. "Finding information is extremely difficult."

"We can't stop," Vortex told the group. "We have to find more information on the school somehow."

"We will, it's just extremely tedious," Onslaught told Vortex. "We'll began again at seven."

"Find with me if you're going to continue searching," Hoist told the group. "I'll stay as long as you are."

"As will I," Bludgeon agreed.

"Count me out" Nautilator said. "I need to go rest in my room."

"Sorry, but I'm feeling pretty tired as well," Jazz answered. "I think I'll turn in early and get up at six tomorrow with the rest of you Combaticons."

"I think I'll do what Jazz says," Ratchet said.

"Me too," Drift replied.

"Me and Wildrider will offer the best help we can," Dead End told the group, causing a glare from Wildrider.

Nightbeat gave a thumbs up in agreement with Dead End.

"Alright, well then, everybody rest and we'll continued at seven," Onslaught told the remaining workforce.

"Right, if you don't mind, I'll go now. See you later, dudes," Jazz told them, getting up and heading out of the room. He went ahead and went up the steps to the dorm rooms, passing by Swindle's room, who was sitting with a knife in his hand, watching the doorway. Jazz walked quickly passed the room and headed for his room. He arrived at his door and opened it, closing it behind him. He walked to his berth and laid down on it, trying to relax.

Suddenly, a flash of light occurred and Skywarp appeared in front of him, Laserbeak resting on his chest. "Woah, Skywarp. What up?" Jazz asked, tensed.

"Okay, look, you guys look stress, so look at what I brought you," Skywarp announced, showing off some cubes of _high-grade_.

"Woah, where did you get that?" Jazz asked.

"Believe it or not, Mixmaster is one hell of a brewer. Dude made some to relax and I decided to bring some to you," Skywarp explained to him.

"Oh, cool," Jazz replied, relaxing again. "I think I'll take some," Jazz replied, taking a couple of them off his hands. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Skywarp replied.

"I'll probably wake up later than usual. High-grade makes me a bit of a deep sleeper," Jazz told him. "And a bit crazy."

"Eh, don't worry. They can hold the fort for the night," Skywarp told him.

"Nice," Jazz said as he realized something.

"Hey, Skywarp, can't you just teleport in the archives?"

"Nope. The headmaster was somehow able to block that as well," Skywarp complained. "It ticks me off."

"Oh, too bad," Jazz murmured.

"Yeah, well, drink up!" Skywarp told him, a high-grade in hand.

"Alright," Jazz agreed, the two knocking their cubes together and drinking from it.

* * *

**Day 8**

Jazz gave a groaned as he woke up from the floor of his room. His room was trashed, the table flipped, cabinet on the floor, and some of the high-grade on the floor. Next to him was a sleeping Skywarp, cuddling him.

"Ah!" Jazz screamed, getting up unsteadily.

"I didn't slap the fish!" Skywarp yelled, waking up. "Ow…" he murmured, rubbing his head. "My head hurts."

"What time is it?" Jazz asked, looking for the clock.

"I don't know. All I know is that my head hurts," Skywarp yelled. Jazz ignored him, looking at the clock, seeing that it was 12:29.

"Oh, man, it's 12:29!"

"AM?"

"PM!"

"Scrap…" Skywarp muttered as he got himself off the floor. "Where's Laserbeak? I don't want Soundwave haunting me from the grave if I let him die," Skywarp asked. Jazz stumbled across the room and into the bathroom.

"Found him," Jazz told him. "He's sleeping in the bathroom."

"I'm coming little birdie!" Skywarp said crawling his way over there and picking his minicon off the floor. "Aw, look, he's hungover, just like us," Skywarp said, pointing out the struggling minicon.

"You fed him some of the high-grade?" Jazz asked, washing his face, trying to wake himself up.

"Hey, he looked interested in it," Skywarp defended.

"If Soundwave was still here, he would be ripping you apart right now," Jazz said, getting out of the bathroom. He peered at the time again. 12:31.

"Alright, Skywarp, if we hurry, we can prevent ourselves from being useless."

"Look, can't we just stayed here. Nothing is going on –"

DING DONG!

The two grew silent and stared at each other as the bell rang and the announcement by Monobear started.

"A body has been discovered. Following an investigation period, we will hold a class trial."

The two had grown numbed at the announcement. Beachcomber, Blast Off, Bludgeon, Blurr, Brawl, Bumblebee, Chromedome, Counterpunch, Dead End, Drift, Hoist, Hound, Knock Out, Mirage, Mixmaster, Nautilator, Nightbeat, Onslaught, Perceptor, Ratchet, Rewind, Scavenger, Smokescreen, Swindle, Vortex, or Wildrider.

One of them was dead.

**Chapter 2: Hope Shattering on the Ground  
**

**Abnormal Days**


	19. Chapter 2: Investigating the Torture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Formatting a bit wonky. Apologies.

The two of them stared at each other as they processed the information, really hoping this was just some shared dream they were having. One of them killing someone again? That was… that shouldn't happen. It wasn't supposed to happen. It's impossible. This was all nothing more than a dream. That's it. Just a

BZZZK

Their electroID buzzed to life, startling the two. The glance at each other before taking their electroID out and turning them on. The Evidence Bullet had an update symbol on it. The two glanced at each other.

"So, I guess this isn't a dream," Skywarp muttered, clicking the button. Jazz did the same and it took them to the evidence list of the second case. The only thing available was Monobear File #2. The two glanced at each other again. "Ready to figured out who died?" he asked him.

"Yeah, let's get it over with," Jazz murmured. Skywarp gave a slow nod before him and Jazz clicked it at the same time.

**Ammo Gained: Monobear File #2**

**Victim: Vortex**

**Location of Discovery: Archives.**

**Additional Notes: Victim's body has sustained massive amounts of blunt force injury, multiple parts being dismember. Multiple stab wounds littered the body. Head decapitated.**

"Vortex," Skywarp said, surprised. "I didn't think he would be a victim."

"Neither did I," Jazz agreed, putting up his electroID. "Well, let's make our way to the archives," Jazz told him.

"Wait, there's something odd about this," Skywarp noticed.

"Uh," Jazz said, before getting it back out and taking a second look. "Wait, I see what you mean. Neither the time nor the cause of death is listed. Now why is that?" Jazz questioned.

"I don't know. Let's go find out," Skywarp said, opening the door. Jazz followed quickly and the two of them quickly made their way over to the library. In there, everyone else was waiting, Most of them was looking confused, wondering how another murder could be committed. However, one individual was mad as hell.

"Which one of you did it!?" Onslaught yelled at the crowd of people, his remaining gestaltmates behind him. Brawl, like Onslaught, was angry, but was keeping his cool better than Onslaught, surprisingly. In fact, it looked like he was moving sluggishly. Blast Off was watching over everyone with an air of contempt for everyone around him. Swindle was staring at everyone, regarding them with suspicion, grasping a knife close to his chest.

"Onslaught, if you wish to solve the case, I recommend that instead of yelling at everyone, we look for evidence," Blast Off told his leader. Onslaught glared at his subordinate before backing off, heading towards the archives.

"Fine," he muttered, heading in. Jazz and Skywarp watched this with confusion at the scene in front of them.

"Well, guess we'd better go help them," Jazz said, heading down the catwalks and down the staircase, Skywarp closed behind him. The two reached the bottom, and made their way to the entrance.

"Woah, what are you doing?" Brawl asked, getting in front of them. "Are you suicidal?"

"Huh?" Skywarp asked.

"In case you couldn't tell, Onslaught is on a rampage," Brawl told them.

"Okay, look. Me and Skywarp? Full-proof alibis. There was no way we could've murder him," Jazz told the brawler.

"Really? Why?"

"Me and him were slag-faced before 10 PM and didn't leave his room. There's high-grade stains and the room is trashed," Skywarp told Brawl. "I know, weird excuse for an alibi, but it's the truth." Brawl looked at the two suspiciously, before relenting, standing out of the way.

"Alright, truth is, we need as much help as we can," Brawl told the two, before glancing at Ratchet.

"Hey, you," he yelled for him.

"Yes?" Ratchet asked

"We need someone examining the body," Brawl told him.

"Right," Ratchet agreed, heading in the archives with the group. Jazz and Skywarp were a bit tensed at the first encounter of the body, but braved up and looked inside.

The archive looked very much the same, none of the computers being affected, but that didn't stop the sight before them. In a clearing the center, they could see two halves of a broken tables. Vortex's lower half was tied to it with strands of wires, one of the legs separated from the rest of the body. The other half was tossed over like the other, but Vortex's upper half wasn't connected to it. Instead, his upper half had broken free. An energon trail was there, leading to Vortex's body just a little bit away from it. It looked like he was crawling away when someone took his head off, it resting just a little away from him with the front of it crushed in.

It was a gruesome sight.

"Okay, I think they may have overdone it," Skywarp muttered.

"Overkill doesn't even begin to describe it," Jazz muttered.

"You!" Onslaught yelled, walking over to them. "Why are you here?" Onslaught asked.

"We got alibis," Jazz explained. "It was impossible for either of us to kill Vortex."

"Is this true?" Onslaught asked Brawl.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright." He turned to Ratchet. "Start checking Vortex's body. Now."

"Okay, I'll start looking over the scene," Ratchet agreed, heading over to the body.

"You two," Onslaught growled to the other two non-Combaticons. "I'm heading the investigation, you understand? You two are assisting along with my men. Together, I expect us to find a killer, understand?"

"Crystal," Skywarp answered.

"You got it," Jazz answered.

"Good, now then," he murmured, looking over at the crowd, "let's figure out which of them killed Vortex."

_Investigation Start_

**Head Detective: Onslaught**

**Assistant Detectives: Blast Off, Brawl, Swindle, Ratchet, Jazz, Skywarp**

The first thing Onslaught and the duo did was head over to investigate the body with Ratchet. "Found anything?" Onslaught asked.

"Well, I found a knife stuck in his body," he said, pointing to the lower half of the corpse. "I tried to remove it to get a better look, but it was stuck."

"Stuck?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah. Judging by where the knife is, it hit him right where the T-cog is. It's probably one of the first thing the culprit did. Vortex probably tried to transform, causing it to get stuck in there. You should add the knife and the T-cogs state in there."

"Interesting," Onslaught murmured before adding it in.

**Ammo Gained: Knife**

**Found embedded in the victim's chest where the T-cog resides. Unable to be removed.**

**Ammo Gained: Vortex's T-cog**

**Tried to use it when the knife hit him.**

"Anything else?" Onslaught asked.

"Well, he's got several knife wounds on him, but they look different from the knife stuck in his chest."

"Good."

**Ammo Gained: Knife Wounds**

**Victim was covered in Knife wounds, but they looked different from the knife embedded in his chest.**

"Anything else?"

"Well, cause of death is going to be difficult, but I'll try and figure it out," Ratchet told him. "The wire looks like it came from the tool room, so you should investigate it for any evidence," Ratchet told him.

**Ammo Gained: Wire**

**Used to restrain the victim to the table.**

"Also, I'm sure this table came from the library. It looks like it's missing one."

**Ammo Gained: Broken Table**

**Table used to torture Vortex was from the library and split in half.**

"Right," Onslaught murmured.

"Also, there is something odd about the table. Look what's under it," Ratchet told him. Onslaught agreed, looking under both ends of the table.

"Huh, bit hard to tell, but it looks like a eight."

"Yes, and there's usually sixteen tables in the library."

"Hmm, could be useful to look into that," Onslaught thought.

**Ammo Gained: Numbers under the table**

**Numbers are etched under the tables. The one Vortex was tied to was number eight.**

"Anything else you want to tell me?"

"If I find anything else, I'll informed you," Ratchet told him briskly.

"Good. I want this bastard caught quickly," Onslaught growled, ordering Skywarp to watch over him and heading out of the room, bring Jazz with him. "Blast Off, you've found anything?"

"Nothing, sir. I spent most of last night in my room alone," Blast Off told him.

"I was about the same, but I kept my door open all throughout the night. I saw a few people crossing my door."

"Uh, quick question?" Jazz asked, butting in. Onslaught turned towards him.

"What?" Onslaught asked.

"Huh, since Vortex's body is in the archive, why did it take you so long to open it? Did you used it last night?" Jazz asked.

"No, we didn't," Brawl answered.

"And yet, we couldn't opened until 12:30 today," Blast Off murmured, "which means it was opened at 11:30 last night."

**Ammo Gained: Archive Door Opening.**

**Door was opened at 11:30 PM last night.**

"So, between 11:30 and 12:30, we can assume that Vortex was tortured in that time frame," Onslaught said. "Swindle, you see anybody about at that time frame or anytime after it?" Onslaught asked.

"I saw Hound at a little past 1 AM," Swindle replied.

**Ammo Gained: Swindle's Testimony**

**Saw Hound passed his door at 1:00 PM.**

"Can we pull up when the archive was used?" Onslaught asked.

"You can only do that once that door's closed," Jazz told him.

"Alright, then we'll checked that out last," Onslaught agreed.

"Hy u!" the still-gibberish voice of Nightbeat called out, heading over to them.

"What do you want?"

"ltj mh hvp," Nightbeat 'said.'

"Ugh, where's Wildrider?" Onslaught asked the crowd.

"Right here!" Wildrider said, getting closer.

"Translate him," Onslaught ordered.

"Ugh, yeah, I think he says that he wants to help," Wildrider answered.

"Yarp!" Nightbeat replied.

"That's an affirmative."

"Can I trust you?" Onslaught asked.

"Why don't you send me, him and Dead End together?" Wildrider asked.

"That could be a good idea," Jazz agreed.

"Humph, fine. That table Vortex's was tortured. There's a number eight etched under it. Figure out where it usually is," Onslaught told them.

"Right, you got it!" Wildrider confirmed, him and Nightbeat heading off to retrieve Dead End.

**Assistant Detectives Gained: Nightbeat, Wildrider, and Dead End**

"Blast Off! Brawl! Check out everyone's whereabouts last night!" Onslaught ordered.

"Orders confirmed," Blast Off agreed, heading into the crowd.

"Moving, boss," Brawl agreed, heading off as well.

"Swindle, do a thorough sweep of the archives and find any evidence," Onslaugh ordered.

"Got it," Swindle muttered, heading back inside.

"What should we do?" Jazz asked.

"Simple, we're going to talk with the good doctor," Onslaught explained, heading for the first floor entrance.

"Knock Out?" Jazz asked.

"Yes. I need to check to see if his door's still locked and get a testimony from him. If the door is broken, he's automatically one of the more suspicious people in this case," Onslaught explained, going through the connecting halls and into the first floor.

"Good point. He does seem like the most violent one here. He could've escaped last night," Jazz agreed, as him and Onslaught took a couple of turns and arrived at the door.

"Huh, looks like I was wrong," Onslaught murmured, seeing the piece of metal used to jammed the door closed.

**Ammo Gained: First Floor Infirmary**

**Still barred shut to keep Knock Out in.**

"Still, couldn't hurt to get his testimony," Jazz said, removing the metal bar from it and opening it. Inside, they could see Knock Out relaxing, a cube of energon in his hand, looking nonchalant.

"Ah, took you long enough," he said coolly, taking another sip of his cube. "So, Vortex got himself killed."

"Are you alright?" Jazz asked.

"I've been alright since yesterday," he answered.

"How did you get out of your bindings?" Onslaught asked, surprised.

"Did you forget that my hands can turned into buzz saws?" Knock Out asked. "It was easy to get out and keep myself well-fed with the energon here," Knock Out answered. "Plus, it kept me safe from any murderers outside, which is a plus."

"Well, you probably don't know anything," Onslaught murmured.

"Hey, I'll let you know, I was up during my whole imprisonment here," Knock Out explained.

"You were?"

"Yes, I was. Someone could've sneaked in during my beauty sleep and there's a rule against sleeping in areas outside your dorm room. Unlike my room, this place doesn't have any locks. If someone messed with the bar, I could prepare myself and deliver the first blow," Knock Out explained.

"Well, did you see anything past 11:30?" Onslaught asked.

"Well, I didn't see anything," Knock Out said, to their disappointment, "but I did heard something."

"You did?" Jazz asked.

"Yes, at some time after 12:30, I heard footsteps walking pasted my room. It sounded like they were heading for the stairs near here," Knock Out explained.

"That's… really helpful," Jazz thanked.

"Well, what do you expect? My life is on the line here, just like the rest of you. I'll do anything to ensure my survival," Knock Out explained. "Answering honestly increases our chance of success and I, along with the rest of you, get to live."

"Huh, I guess that makes sense," Jazz agreed.

"Anyway, thanks for opening the door. If you need anything else, I'll head to my room and see if I can get some rest and buffer myself a little bit."

"Alright, I guess that's fine," Onslaught said. "I doubt you have any more useful information."

"Hmph, no appreciation. That's great," Knock Out muttered, heading for the stairs nearby.

**Ammo Gained: Knock Out's testimony**

**Heard footsteps walking past the first floor infirmary to the stairs at a little after 12:30.**

"Well, guess we'll head back to the archives," Jazz said.

"Yes, I think we've given Nightbeat's group enough time to examine the table and Ratchet enough time to examine the body," Onslaught agreed. The two quickly headed over to the library, where Dead End was waiting for hem

"Ah, good news!" Dead End replied cheerily. "All the tables do have a number on them and we made a chart to show it from the point of view of the entrance," Dead End explained, showing them the chart.

13 14 15 16

Archives 10 11 12

5 6 7 9

1 2 3 4

Entrance

"What the- there's something wrong with the desks," Jazz noticed immediately.

"Yeah, there is a pattern evident, but for some reason, the nine is out of ordered. Now why is that?" Dead End replied

"The number nine desk is closest to the archives if it followed the ordered," Onslaught noticed.

"Yeah, it would be," Jazz agreed.

**Ammo Gained: Chart of Desks**

**Shows placement of desks. The number nine desks appeared to be out of ordered and the number eight desk is missing.**

"Let's go check out that number nine desk," Onslaught said, heading over there.

"Right," Jazz agreed.

"I'll come with you," Dead End said, the three of them heading over to desk nine to find no one there. "Hmm, I thought I left Wildrider and Nightbeat here. They must be working on a hunch," Dead End said.

"Whatever, let's check it out," Onslaught said, flipping the desk over.

"Woah, what are you doing!?" Jazz asked.

"Getting answers," Onslaught told him, looking under the desk. "Definitely a nine under here," Onslaught said, as he noticed the nine on it, identifiable from a six by a line under it.

"Huh, I don't see anything wrong with… it…." Jazz paused at as he looked at the ground. "Woooooow," he drawled out.

"Huh," Onslaught questioned.

"That's one big crack," Jazz noticed. Onslaught turned his gaze downward to what Jazz saw. He saw a major spiral cracked on the floor. "Looks like a major impact on the floor."

"Yeah. Very interesting."

**Ammo Gained: Giant Crack in Floor**

**A crack on the floor that came from a massive impact. Found under table nine.**

"I wonder what could've caused it," Jazz wondered.

"Hey!" someone yelled, causing the two to look above at the third floor balcony. "Look what we found up here," Wildrider said, wanting them to come up there.

"What did they found?" Jazz wondered.

"Let's find out," Onslaught ordered, heading up the steps. The three headed up and saw Nightbeat and Wildrider looking at the railing.

"What's up?" Jazz asked.

"Te rilng," Nightbeat said.

"The railing," Wildrider translated.

"The railing?" Jazz asked, looking at the railing and seeing something strange. "It's bent inward."

"And there is some bodily energon on it," Onslaught noticed.

"Only a little bit. The impact must've been quick," Dead End noticed.

**Ammo Gained: Third Floor Railing**

**Railing on third floor catwalk was bent inward.**

"So, the culprit chased Vortex around the library first before subduing him somewhere aroundhere and took him to the archives," Onslaught noticed. He glanced at Wildrider and Nightbeat. "Find the place where the culprit attacked him, quickly, before time runs out. And take Dead End with you."

"You got it," Wildrider agreed, the two of them heading off. Dead End gave a slight nod before heading out.

"Okay, let's see if any of the testimonies are useful," Onslaught said, the two of them going back to the first floor to where Brawl and Blast Off were waiting for them. "Found anything?" Onslaught asked.

"Beachcomber was up at the A/V room at 8:30 until 1:00," Blast Off told Onslaught. "Not much to go on.

**Ammo Gained: Beachcomber's Testimony**

**Up at A/V room from 8:30 PM until 1:00 AM.**

"Mixmaster was drinking," Brawl said. "Up at fourth-floor lounge at 10:30 'til 12:45, after which he head to his room. Had a clear view of the hallway leading to staircase. Saw no one."

"Was he alone?"

"No. Blurr was with him, but he didn't drink any of the high-grade. Stayed at lounge until 1:15. He stayed sober and can collaborate Mixmaster's statement," Brawl answered.

"Well, I guess we can count those two off," Onslaught agreed.

**Ammo Gained: Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony**

**Up at fourth-floor lounge together. Saw no one. Both were there at 10:30 PM. Mixmaster left at 12:45 AM while Blurr left at 1:15 AM.**

"Any more information?" Onslaught asked.

"No one else was around at the time of the murder, from the people we could question," Blast Off answered.

" _Could_ question?"

"Well, Hound is missing. We can't find him around the library. He's probably in the other building somewhere," Brawl told him.

"Can someone go find him?" Onslaught asked.

"Look, we want too, but we've seen a couple people trying to sneak through and looked through the crime scene," Brawl explained.

"Who?"

"The Constructicons. They're both trying to look into the archives."

"They are?" Onslaught questioned.

"Yes, it's very suspicious," Blast Off said. Onslaught and Jazz looked at each other.

"I'll put it in," Jazz murmured.

**Ammo Gained: Constructicons' Strange Behavior**

**Both of the Constructicons were trying to sneak into archive.**

"Right, let's check out Ratchet," Onslaught said, heading back inside. The two left Blast Off and Brawl alone and went back into the room.

"Aw, hello. How are the both of you?" Ratchet asked.

"Pissed," Onslaught growled.

"Alright," Jazz hesitated.

"Well, I'll tell you a few things. First off, I've confirmed that the energon here is definitely bodily energon. Looks like he was tortured here," Ratchet explained.

"Nice to see that test you did is working wonders," Skywarp said.

**Ammo Gained: Energon at Body**

**Definitely bodily energon.**

"Second, the neck."

"Neck?"

"There is an odd pattern to it. See, look," he said, holding up Vortex's head. "Look at the neck cables. Most of it appears to have ripped off."

"Yeah, good. So the culprit used some blunt force weaponry to take it off.," Onslaught said, feeling a little sick.

"That's not important," Ratchet told him.

"What are you talking about?" Ratchet asked, about ready to punch Ratchet's head off.

"Looked at the last pieces of wire here," Ratchet said, showing them off. "Unlike the rest, they look like they're cut with an extremely fine knife," Ratchet explained.

"I've ripped heads off. They don't do something like this," Skywarp muttered.

"What? Why take most of someone's head off with a blunt force object, then slice the rest of it off?" Jazz asked.

"I don't know," Ratchet said. "I just explained what killed them, not how it happened, Ratchet explained.

"Well, this is very strange," Onslaught murmured.

**Ammo Gained: Strange Neck Wound Pattern**

**Neck was mostly ripped apart except for a small part that was cut off.**

"Any more information?" Onslaught asked.

"Yeah, something very weird," Ratchet said.

"What would that be, Ratch," Jazz asked.

"I found what looked like black glass inside one of the stab wounds," Ratchet said, showing him.

"Black glass?" came a voice behind them, leading to Swindle coming up to them.

"Yes," Ratchet said.

"Let me see it," Swindle asked. Ratchet handed it to him. "Obsidian," he answered immediately.

"Obsidian?" Ratchet asked.

"Yes, remember?" Swindle asked. "The infirmary had a set of obsidian blades in the infirmaries," Swindle told the group.

"Wait, I remember. First night here, we explored the fourth floor together. You pointed out to me that and the diamond alloy blades."

"Both would be sharp enough to slice Vortex opened," Swindle said. "I'll check the infirmaries now."

"Skip the first floor. That's clear. Check the others," Onslaught told him.

"Roger," Swindle agreed, heading out.

**Ammo Added: Obsidian Shard**

**A piece of Obsidian found in the body.**

"Wait!" Onslaught called out for him

"What?" Swindle asked, frustrated.

"Found anything in here," Onslaught asked.

"There's a side room," Swindle answered. "There's nothing much of used. In the side room, there's a jagged piece of metal most people wouldn't see when entering the room. On it, green paint scrape that looked like it came from a body, but it doesn't match any of the paint jobs here, so it's useless," Swindle explained.

"Never assumed anything is worthless," Onslaught told him. "I'm sure this will help crack the case."

**Ammo Gained: Green Paint Scrape**

**A jagged piece of metal had green paint scrape on it. Doesn't match any of the paint jobs in the school.**

"Suit yourself," Swindle muttered, heading out.

"Right, want to see if Nightbeat's group found where Vortex was assaulted," Jazz asked.

"Let's go," Onslaught agreed.

"Wait, there's also something wrong with one of his hands," Ratchet said, picking up his right hand off the ground. "See his index figure?" he pointed out, it being covered in energon. "The rest of his fingers were clean," Ratchet told them.

"What does that mean?" Onslaught asked.

"My guess, he tried writing something," he answered.

"He did?" Jazz asked.

"My best guess," Ratchet answered.

**Ammo Gained: Energon-Stained Finger**

**Vortex's right index-finger is stained with energon.**

"Anything else?" Onslaught asked.

"No. You can go," Ratchet told them.

"Good. Let's go," Onslaught said, him and Jazz getting out.

"Come on back later," Ratchet told them. "I'll cut this knife out to get a better look at it. Might be able to get a clue off it," Ratchet told them.

"Good," Onslaught agreed, him and Jazz heading back out of the room.

"Head!" they heard upstairs. They turned their head up to see Nightbeat, Wildrider, and Dead End staring down at them from the fifth floor. "Get up here," Wildrider told them.

"Looks like they found it," Jazz noticed, the two of them quickly heading up the stairs.

"Hey there," Dead End greeted them. "We found another bent railing," he said, showing them the bent railing.

"Just like the previous one," Onslaught said.

"Nt extly," Nightbeat 'told' them.

"Not exactly," Wildrider translated.

"Uh?" Jazz wondered.

"Oh, yeah, we were talking about it," Dead End said. "This railing is bent _outward_."

"Outward?" Onslaught wondered.

"Yeah, a bit odd," Dead End wondered.

**Ammo Gained: Fifth Floor Railing**

**Railing at fifth floor outlier was bent outward.**

"Along with that, there was some sloppily cleaned up energon stains on the ground. Someone tried to cleaned it up," Wildrider told them, indicating to the ground near the railing.

**Ammo Gained: Messily Cleaned Energon**

**Energon stains found on the fifth floor next to bent railing.**

"Anything else?" Onslaught asked.

"Not that we kn-"

"Hre!" Nightbeat yelled from behind a shelf.

"What?" Onslaught asked, coming over. Nightbeat's face had a sense of sorrow to it.

"Nom," Nightbeat told him.

"Name," Wildrider told them.

"Who?" Onslaught asked. Nightbeat hesitated before answering.

"Sviwdon," Nightbeat answered.

"Swindle," Wildrider translated.

"What?!" Onslaught yelled, coming over to look at it. Right there, written on the floor, was Swindle's name written messily, along with a pool of energon.

"Frag! I guess that's open and shut," Wildrider muttered.

"No, it isn't. If it was Swindle, then why didn't he try to clean this up when he tried to clean up the one by the railing?" Dead End asked the group.

"I expect answers from him the next time we see him," Onslaught guttered.

**Ammo Gained: Energon Pool**

**A pool of unclean energon found behind a datapad shelf.**

**Ammo Gained: Swindle's Name**

**Found behind a datapad shelf written on the floor.**

"Hey, shelf," Jazz pointed. "Look at the corner jutting out."

"There's energon on it," Onslaught said.

"Yeah, like someone landed on it," Dead End muttered. "Very sloppy craftsmanship."

**Ammo Gained: Bookshelf Corner**

**Jutting corner from bookshelf with energon dripping from it.**

"What does all this means?" Jazz asked. Nightbeat whispered something to Wildrider.

"Nighty says that Vortex's falling on the corner could have left him unconscious," Wildrdier said.

"And then they dragged him to the archives to torture him," Onslaught finished.

"Exactly," Jazz agreed.

"It still leaves a lot of unanswered questions," Dead End said.

"Like that energon trail we missed," Jazz said, crouching down in front of a trail of energon droplets.

"Huh, look at that," Onslaught muttered, examining it. Nightbeat muttered something to Wildrider.

"Nightbeat says, judging by the ways it splatters, that Vortex was walking out of the Book shelf," Wildrider translated.

"Out, where it was scrubbed up along with the other energon," Onslaught said.

**Ammo Gained: Energon Trail**

**Trail starting at bookshelf and leading away from it.**

"Right, I think that's all we'll get up here," Jazz said. "I don't think we'll find anything else up here."

"Hey, wait," Dead End said, looking over the abnormally tall railing. "This spot is right above the number nine table," Dead End said.

"It is?" Onslaught asked, looking over the railing easily with his tall stature.

"Well, that's interesting," Jazz said.

**Ammo Gained: Location of Fifth Floor Struggle**

**The location of the struggle is right above the number nine desk's position.**

"Sounds fine to me. We need to find Swindle and Hound. We need to hear from them," Onslaught said, heading down the steps.

"Wait for me!" Jazz yelled. Together, the two of them descended down the steps to the third floor.

"Right, Hound or Swindle may be in here. Search carefully," Onslaught said as he looked into a door. "Never mind. Found Hound," he said. Jazz came up behind him to see Hound surrounded by pictures and paintings of flames.

"Oh, hey," he said casually.

"Uh, hi," Jazz greeted. "Nice collection you got here," he complimented nervously.

"Thanks. I've been working on them for most of the previous night," Hound explained.

"You have?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah, uh, last night I was here from 7 PM to 1 AM. I met Beachcomber on the way down to my room. I like him you know. I feel like we're kindred sparks," Hounds said.

"Yeah, cool," Jazz muttered. "Thanks for the information."

"You're welcome," he said, as he went back to his painting.

**Ammo Gained: Hound's Testimony.**

**In art room next to library's third floor entrance from 7 PM to 1 AM.**

The two of them got out of there and quickly head to the third floor infirmary, not finding him there. The two quickly departed the floor and upped to the fourth floor and made a beeline for the infirmary on that floor near the entrance to the library. The two entered to see Swindle examining an obsidian scalpel with a broken tip.

"Found it" he said, showing them the obsidian scalpel. "This looks like the scalpel that had a piece ripped out of it."

"Ah, good," Onslaught muttered.

**Ammo Gained: Broken Obsidian Scalpel.**

**An obsidian scalpel that had the tip broken off.**

"That's not the only suspicious thing I found here," Swindle said, picking a garbage can off the ground and showing ti to them. Inside it was a bit of tubing with some energon in it. "This was used somehow, although I really don't know how," Swindle told them.

"Well, that complicates thing," Jazz said to himself.

**Ammo Gained: Bit of Tubing.**

**Found in the trash with some energon in it.**

"Also, I've been looking over the tools. It looks like they have been clean recently. Both sets," Swindle told them. "I think this is the stuff that was used to tortured Vortex," he told the two gloomily.

"That's disturbing," Jazz muttered.

**Ammo Gained: Clean Medical Equipment**

**The fourth floor infirmary equipment was cleaned recently.**

"I also checked the miscellaneous supplies. Some wire was used recently," Swindle told them.

**Ammo Gained: Missing Wire**

**Wire in the fourth floor infirmary was missing.**

"Swindle, that's all well and good, but that's not what we came here for," Onslaught told him.

"Really? Than why are you here?" Swindle asked. The two stayed silent before Onslaught answered.

"We found your name written in Vortex's energon," he told him.

"What?!" Swindle yelled surprised. "But, I wasn't there," Swindle told them.

"Swindle, I'm pretty sure you're lying, so tell-"

"Shut it! I didn't found all this evidence just so I can get badgered by you two. I'm heading to the library. Inform me when you actually think I'm innocent," Swindle told them, heading out of the room.

"Well, that was wasted time," Jazz muttered.

"But, Swindle did found some interesting things," Onslaught said.

"Yes, I wondered how they will be used during the trial," he muttered to himself.

"We should head back to Ratchet before Monobear calls for the trials," Jazz said, quickly heading out of the room, Onslaught following him. They quickly went back to the archive to see Ratchet had just finished cutting the knife out of Vortex's body.

"Ah, good to see you. As you see, the knife is a kitchen knife," he said, showing it to them.

**Ammo Updated: Knife**

**Found embedded in the victim's chest where the T-cog resides. Unable to be removed.**

**Is a regular kitchen knife.**

"Also, since I've been getting really closed to the body, I've been able to take a closer look and there's a massive gash in his head. Probably enough to severely weaken him and bring him here. Maybe ever enough to kill if it pierce his CPU or other vital stuff in his head," Ratchet told them.

"Pretty nasty. I've gotten gashes like these before and they weren't pretty," Skywarp told them.

**Ammo Gained: Gash in Victim's head.**

**Severely damaging attack done to Vortex's head. Could've killed him or majorly injured him.**

"And, this is truly weird, I think is spinal strut is broken," Ratchet told them.

"Well, duh," Skywarp said. "He's split in half. What do you expect?"

"The location is wrong. The place where the spinal strut is broken is near the base of the neck," Ratchet told them.

**Ammo Gained: Broken Spinal Strut**

**Spinal strut at base of neck is broken.**

"Also, his face is broken by what looks to be a cylindrical object, judging by the markings it left."

**Ammo Gained: Broken Face**

**Face appear to be broken by a cylindrical object.**

"Thanks, Ratch," Jazz gave his gratitude.

"No problem. I'm guessing we're nearing the school trial," Ratchet said.

"Yeah, it's about 1:30," Jazz said.

"And the door will closed soon," Onslaught said. "We can finally identified who opened the door at 11:30 last night," Onslaught said. The group quickly got out of the archives as the archive door closed behind them, sealing them off for another 12 hours. Jazz quickly turned the machine on and gazed at the archives of the archives.

"And the person to open it at 11:30 is… Scavenger?" Jazz asked confused.

"The constructicon with the tail," Onslaught said.

**Ammo Gained: Archive Door Opening**

**Door was opened at 11:30 PM last night.**

**Scavenger was the one who opened it.**

"Okay, let's make one last stop before the trial," Onslaught said.

"Where?" Jazz asked.

"The second floor," Onslaught answered. The two of them quickly found themselves on the second floor. "Swindle's room," Onslaught said. The door was still opened from Swindle's paranoia and the two entered it. "What are we searching for?" Jazz asked, looking through a drawer.

"This," Onslaught said, heading to the knife block. There was two knives missing.

**Ammo Gained: Swindle's Knife Block**

**Two knives were missing.**

"Hey, there's something in this drawer," Jazz said, taking out a datapad.

"What is it?" Onslaught asked.

"It's a note, asking him to come at the library's fifth floor at 11:30 PM," he told him.

**Ammo Gained: Swindle's Note**

**Note asking Swindle to come to library at 11:30 PM**

"Could this be another frame-up like Skywarp's" Jazz asked.

"Let's head to Vortex's room real quick," Onslaught said.

"Probably best," Jazz agreed. The two exited the room and head to Vortex's room. "Alright, what is there in this room that we can used?" Jazz asked. The two of them quickly did a search of the room, coming up with almost nothing.

"Well, I found this datapad," Onslaught noticed, reading it. "Oh, frag," Onslaught murmured.

"What is it?"

"It's a journal entry, about Vortex sending notes to my other subordinates to meet him in the fifth floor of the library," Onslaught murmured.

"None of them mentioned it," Jazz said.

"Which means they are all lying to me in some way. Just great," Onslaught dragged it out.

**Ammo Gained: Vortex's Journal Entry**

**Send notes to the Combaticons beside Onslaught to meet him in the fifth floor of the library.**

"Well, looks like we're done here. I want to go talk to them real quick," Onslaught said.

"What the frag!" a voiced yelled. The two looked at each other before heading out to see Knock Out investigating a strange prism device.

"Knock Out. What's wrong?" Onslaught asked.

"I searched my room and found this in the vents," Knock Out answered. "I have no idea what it is," he said before smashing it with his feet, "but it doesn't matter anymore."

**Ammo Gained: Strange Device**

**Knock Out found it in his room**

"Hey!" Wildrider yelled, running over to them "Nightbeat told me to give you this," he said, handing them a datapad. "It's a chart of the dorm rooms and who stays in them," he said.

Stairs

Beachcomber Brawl

Swindle Perceptor

Ratchet Skywarp

Bludgeon Counterpunch

Drift Shockwave

Nautilator Blurr

Mirage Dead End

Blast Off Hound

Nightbeat Soundwave

Wildrider Chromedome

Rewind Mixmaster

Onslaught Smokescreen

Bumblebee Vortex

Scavenger Jazz

Hoist Knock Out

Library Entrance

"What's the point of this?" Jazz asked, holding hit up in the air.

"I dunno," Wildrider murmured. "He just says that it's a hunch."

**Ammo Gained: Map of dorm rooms**

**A map that identifies which dorm room someone lives in.**

DING DONG!

"Attention, the investigation is over. Everyone head to the cargo elevator for the trial!"

The four of them looked at each other.

"Well, I guess it's time to send someone else to the gallows," Knock Out murmured, heading out to the stairs. The other three looked at each other before following him down the stairs and reaching the cargo elevator. The four of them were the first to arrive and took their place in the elevator. Everyone else slowly drifted in, preparing themselves for the trial on hand. Once the last person entered, Blurr hit the button liked he usually does and send the elevator down. The elevator descended slowly, lasting for what felt like eons for everyone before it finally stopped and opened up.

They entered the family trial room, and quickly took their places. In Soundwave and Vortex's place was pictures of them. Vortex's was a blue, bloody X like Shockwave's while Soundwave's was in an X with what looked like Laserbeak. Hound and Nightbeat looked nervous, standing in-between two portraits of their dead comrades.

"Welcome, everyone, to your second trial! It's good to see that you're very proactive with killing each other," Monobear said cheerily.

"Would you shut up!?" Onslaught ordered.

"Huh," Monobear gasped, offended. "Anyway, the rules, as you know is to discuss amongst each other to find the culprit of the case. If you succeed, the culprit is the only one that gets punished. If you fail, the culprit is the only one that gets unpunished. Everyone understand?" Everyone agreed. "Good. I pronounce the second school trial to be in session!"

 

 

 

 

 


	20. Chapter 2: Trial PT 1

**Do you have the facts straight?**

**1.** **Monobear File #2**

Victim: Vortex

Location of Discovery: Archives.

Additional Notes: Victim's body has sustained massive amounts of blunt force injury, multiple parts being dismember. Multiple stab wounds littered the body. Head decapitated.

**2\. Knife**

Found embedded in the victim's chest where the T-cog resides. Unable to be removed.

Is a regular kitchen knife.

**3\. Vortex's T-cog**

Tried to use it when the knife hit him.

**4\. Knife Wounds**

Victim was covered in Knife wounds, but they looked different from the knife embedded in his chest.

**5\. Wire**

Used to restrain the victim to the table.

**6\. Broken Table**

Table used to torture Vortex was from the library and split in half.

**7\. Numbers under the table**

Numbers are etched under the tables. The one Vortex was tied to was number eight.

**8\. Archive Door Opening.**

Door was opened at 11:30 PM last night.

Scavenger was the one who opened it.

**9\. Swindle's Testimony**

Saw Hound passed his door at 1:00 PM.

**10\. First Floor Infirmary**

Still barred shut to keep Knock Out in.

**11\. Knock Out's Testimony**

Heard footsteps walking past the first floor infirmary to the stairs at a little after 12:30.

**12\. Ammo Gained: Chart of Desks**

Shows placement of desks. The number nine desks appeared to be out of ordered and the number eight desk missing.

**13\. Giant Crack in Floor**

A crack on the floor that came from a massive impact. Found under table nine.

**14\. Third Floor Railing**

Railing on third floor catwalk was bent inward.

**15\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Up at A/V room from 8:30 PM until 1:00 AM.

**16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony**

Up at fourth-floor lounge together. Saw no one. Both were there at 10:30 PM. Mixmaster left at 12:45 AM while Blurr left at 1:15 AM.

**17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior**

Both of the Constructicons were trying to sneak into archive.

**18\. Energon at Body**

Definitely bodily energon.

**19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern**

Neck was mostly ripped apart except for a small part that was cut off.

**20\. Obsidian Shard**

A piece of Obsidian found in the body.

**21\. Green Paint Scrape**

A jagged piece of metal had green paint scrape on it. Doesn't match any of the paint jobs in the school.

**22\. Energon-Stained Finger**

Vortex's right index-finger is stained with energon.

**23\. Fifth Floor Railing**

Railing at fifth floor outlier was bent outward.

**24\. Messily Cleaned Energon**

Energon stains found on the fifth floor next to bent railing.

**25\. Energon Pool**

A pool of unclean energon found behind a datapad shelf.

**26\. Swindle's Name**

Found behind a datapad shelf behind written on the floor.

**27\. Bookshelf Corner**

Jutting corner from bookshelf with energon dripping from it.

**28\. Energon Trail**

Trail starting at bookshelf and leading away from it.

**29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle**

The location of the struggle is right above the number nine desk's position.

**30\. Hound's Testimony.**

In art room next to library's third floor entrance from 7PM to 1AM.

**31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.**

An obsidian scalpel that had the tip broken off.

**32\. Bit of Tubing.**

Found in the trash with some energon in it.

**33\. Clean Medical Equipment**

The fourth floor infirmary equipment was cleaned recently.

**34\. Missing Wire**

Wire in the fourth floor infirmary was missing.

**35\. Gash in Victim's head.**

Severely damaging attack done to Vortex's head. Could've killed him or majorly injured him.

**36\. Broken Spinal Strut**

Spinal strut at base of neck is broken.

**37\. Broken Face**

Face appear to be broken by a cylindrical object.

**38\. Swindle's Knife Block**

Two knives were missing.

**39\. Swindle's Note**

Note asking Swindle to come to library at 11:30 PM

**40\. Vortex's Journal entry**

Send notes to the Combaticons beside Onslaught to meet him in the fifth floor of the library.

**40\. Strange Device**

Knock Out found it in his room

**41\. Map of dorm rooms**

A map that identifies which dorm room someone lives in.

* * *

_Court is now in session_

* * *

"Right, a quick run-through of events," Onslaught said to everyone. "Yesterday, a lot of us were at the library investigating that day until 10 PM. After that, most of us headed in for the rooms for the night, except for a select few. Today, this morning, I and the rest of the Combaticons woke today with this feeling in our circuitry that something was wrong. That prove to be true when, at 12:30 PM, we open the archive doors to find Vortex tortured to death. That is the order of events last night. First off, we should try to establish a motive."

"Obviously, this was personal," Swindle chimed in. "It's no secret that we've made enemies, none more than Vortex. Someone here decided to inflict Vortex the same torture he inflicted on numerous others."

"To go along with that," Blast Off said, "Vortex had been more friendlier due to unknown affects Monobear has inflicted on us, making him more subdue and more easy to convince him to follow."

"Once the killer closed the archive door, nobody could find the body, delaying the investigation and giving him more time to dispose of evidence before we could stop him," Brawl finished off.

"Alright, so what should we discuss first?" Chromedome asked.

"We should probably discuss the state of the body," Perceptor said.

"Works fine," Onslaught agreed, getting ready to shred any bad information anyone says.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available:

Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

Obsidian Shard

Fifth Floor Railing

SKYWARP: Well, he was **tortured** to death, obviously.

SKYWARP: The guy had obviously never heard of overkill before.

MIRAGE: He bled copiously and was **bound to a table**.

RATCHET: His body was stabbed multiple times.

MIXMASTER: And he was decapitated.

JAZZ: His face was smashed in as well.

SCAVENGER: As far as we can tell…

SCAVENGER: the crime **only took place at the archives**.

BRAWL: A slow and merciless crime.

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: That's wrong!

Ammo Used: Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

* * *

"There was plenty of action on the fifth floor," Onslaught announced.

"That's putting it lightly," Dead End said.

"Anyway, there was a definite struggle on the fifth floor. The killer probably subdue Vortex there and then brought him to the archive," Onslaught told everybody.

"Why?" Knock Out asked.

"Huh?" Onslaught asked.

"Why there? I mean, if I were to subdue someone and bring them to the archives, I would do it on the first or second floor, not all the way up at the top. Why would he do that?" Knock Out asked.

"Because…"

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear File #2

2\. Knife

3\. Vortex's T-cog

4\. Knife Wounds

5\. Wire

6\. Broken Table

7\. Numbers Under the Table

8\. Archive Door Opening

9\. Swindle's Testimony

10\. First Floor Infirmary

11\. Knock Out's Testimony

12\. Ammo Gained: Chart of Desks

13\. Giant Crack in Floor

14\. Third Floor Railing

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony

17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior

18\. Energon at Body

19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern

20\. Obsidian Shard

21\. Green Paint Scrape

22\. Energon-Stained Finger

23\. Fifth Floor Railing

24\. Messily Cleaned Energon

25\. Energon Pool

26\. Swindle's Name

27\. Bookshelf Corner

28\. Energon Trail

29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

30\. Hound's Testimony

31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.

32\. Bit of Tubing.

33\. Clean Medical Equipment

34\. Missing Wire

35\. Gash in Victim's head

36\. Broken Spinal Strut

37\. Broken Face

38\. Swindle's Knife Block

39\. Swindle's Note

40\. **Vortex's Journal entry**

41\. Strange Device

42\. Map of dorm rooms

* * *

"Vortex had made a note about him asking Swindle, Brawl, and Blast Off to the fifth floor library," Onslaught told the court.

"I didn't go," Blast Off immediately said.

"Neither did I," Swindle answered.

"Same here," Brawl answered.

"If that's true, then this was a crime of opportunity," Knock Out said. "Alright, let's continue talking about the state of the body."

"No!" Jazz screamed out. "One of them was clearly at the scene of the crime, this can't be denied. Onslaught, I know this hurts, but you can't keep it under wraps."

"I know…" Onslaught muttered.

"Wait, so who was it?" Scavenger asked.

Onslaught gave a groan before answering:

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

Brawl

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

Counterpunch

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

**Swindle**

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~

* * *

"Swindle, he was the one that was there," Onslaught told him.

**THAT CAN'T BE!**

Onslaught turned his glare to the one who he knew would give an objection. "Are you saying that I killed Vortex?" Swindle asked darkly.

"Well... maybe," Onslaught murmured. "There's plenty of evidence that points to you being there."

"No there isn't! I never met Vortex!" Swindle confronted him.

"Yes you were! Now tell me what you know," Onslaught ordered.

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available:

Knife

Swindle's name

Jutted corner

SWINDLE: I wasn't there!

SWINDLE: Vortex was someone I couldn't trust.

SWINDLE: I would never go meet him.

SWINDLE: There were too many variables I couldn't control.

SWINDLE: I couldn't risk going up there.

…

Development

…

ONSLAUGHT: Obviously, you choose to ignore the risk…

ONSLAUGHT: …and a critical piece of evidence proves this.

SWINDLE: I'll repeat this again.

SWINDLE: No way would I go up there.

SWINDLE: Everything about what you say is faulty.

SWINDLE: **Nothing about Vortex's body proves I was there.**

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: That's getting ripped apart!

Sword used: Knife

* * *

 "The knife," Onslaught said.

"Huh?" Swindle asked.

"The knife in his body was a kitchen knife," Onslaught answered. "Add it with another piece of evidence and it becomes clear you were there."

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear File #2

2\. Knife

3\. Vortex's T-cog

4\. Knife Wounds

5\. Wire

6\. Broken Table

7\. Numbers Under the Table

8\. Archive Door Opening

9\. Swindle's Testimony

10\. First Floor Infirmary

11\. Knock Out's Testimony

12\. Ammo Gained: Chart of Desks

13\. Giant Crack in Floor

14\. Third Floor Railing

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony

17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior

18\. Energon at Body

19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern

20\. Obsidian Shard

21\. Green Paint Scrape

22\. Energon-Stained Finger

23\. Fifth Floor Railing

24\. Messily Cleaned Energon

25\. Energon Pool

26\. Swindle's Name

27\. Bookshelf Corner

28\. Energon Trail

29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

30\. Hound's Testimony

31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.

32\. Bit of Tubing.

33\. Clean Medical Equipment

34\. Missing Wire

35\. Gash in Victim's head

36\. Broken Spinal Strut

37\. Broken Face

38\. **Swindle's Knife Block**

39\. Swindle's Note

40\. Vortex's Journal entry

41\. Strange Device

42\. Map of dorm rooms

* * *

"Swindle, there's two knives missing from your knife block. One you have with you right now, and the other I'm sure is embedded in Vortex's chest," Onslaught answered.

"Ugh!" Swindle groaned. "That… that doesn't prove anything! Someone could've sneaked in and stolen it."

"Swindle, quit lying," Onslaught ordered.

"No, it's still a possibility," Swindle answered.

"No, it isn't. You've been far too paranoid to let someone get in your room," Onslaught told him.

"There isn't anything else that points to me being there! Quit trying to put the blame on me!"

"I wouldn't have too if you didn't keep lying!"

"Lying? About what?! I'm not lying!"

"Swindle- would you,"

"Shut up! Quit trying to put me there!"

* * *

_Machine Gun Talk Battle!_

Ammunition available:

Swindle's name

Jagged Corner

Gash on Victim's Head

Shield X6

SWINDLE: I wasn't there!

Shield X5

SWINDLE: Someone stole my knife!

Shield X4

SWINDLE: Someone else was there!

Shield X3

SWINDLE: I'm not involved!

Shield X2

SWINDLE: Why would I hurt Vortex!

Shield X1

SWINDLE: I couldn't possibly kill him!

_Shield destroyed!_

SWINDLE: **Nothing indicates that I met Vortex up there!**

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: This proves you did!

Ammo used: Swindle's Name

* * *

"Vortex wrote your name down in energon on the floor."

"What? But I wasn't-"

"Enough with the lies! Just give me the truth for once!"

"But, that was faked," Swindle said.

"No it wasn't! This proves it!"

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear File #2

2\. Knife

3\. Vortex's T-cog

4\. Knife Wounds

5\. Wire

6\. Broken Table

7\. Numbers Under the Table

8\. Archive Door Opening

9\. Swindle's Testimony

10\. First Floor Infirmary

11\. Knock Out's Testimony

12\. Ammo Gained: Chart of Desks

13\. Giant Crack in Floor

14\. Third Floor Railing

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony

17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior

18\. Energon at Body

19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern

20\. Obsidian Shard

21\. Green Paint Scrape

22\. **Energon-Stained Finger**

23\. Fifth Floor Railing

24\. Messily Cleaned Energon

25\. Energon Pool

26\. Swindle's Name

27\. Bookshelf Corner

28\. Energon Trail

29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

30\. Hound's Testimony

31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.

32\. Bit of Tubing.

33\. Clean Medical Equipment

34\. Missing Wire

35\. Gash in Victim's head

36\. Broken Spinal Strut

37\. Broken Face

38\. Swindle's Knife Block

39\. Swindle's Note

40\. Vortex's Journal entry

41\. Strange Device

42\. Map of dorm rooms

* * *

 "Vortex's index finger was stained with energon. He used that finger to write you name down," Onslaught told him.

"That's- That's-"

"The truth. There's no use denying it," Onslaught told him. Swindle played with his knife as he attempted to process Onslaught's words. "Quit thinking it over!" Onslaught yelled, causing him to flinch and cut his palm. Swindle held his hand as he looked at everyone's judgmental eyes. They knew that he was lying and nothing he would say would convince them otherwise.

"Fine," Swindle muttered. "Look, I went up there at the 11:20, a few minutes early. I saw that Vortex was already there. We met up behind the bookshelf and we talked and waited. He kept talking and my previous thoughts about him started to go away. I thought I could trust him, but every word he was saying felt like poison. He was trying to get my guard down."

"But I wouldn't let that happened! I-I stabbed him when he wasn't paying attention. He screamed at me, and I knew it was the right decision. I just wanted to get away. I knew the consequence of killing him, so I pushed him and he felled and hit his head on a jagged end of the bookshelf. I waited, but he didn't get back up. So, I ran. I ran back in my room and kept my door opened, hoping no one would discover what I did," he finished.

"Wait, that can't be it," Wildrider said. "You didn't mentioned how you tortured him."

"That's because I didn't."

"!"

"Look, when we found Vortex in the archives, I was just as surprised as the rest of you. I didn't do that! Yes, I attacked him, but I didn't killed him," Swindle told the group. The rest of the group looked on in silence, trying to figure out what he said was true or not. Finally, Rewind spoke first.

"What a load of scrap! Do you really expect us to believe that?" Rewind asked him.

"But, it's the truth!" Swindle yelled out.

"Swindle, pal, I think it's time to call it quits," Smokescreen said, depressed.

"I didn't killed him," Swindle desperately begged.

"Lying as you await your demise is a shame. Admit the rest of the truth," Bludgeon ordered.

"Please… I didn't… don't vote for me," Swindle could barely get out, on his knees.

"Well, I hate to say it, but it's time to vote," Jazz said. "Monobear, can we vote?" he asked.

Onslaught froze. Was this it? Was Swindle really the killer? He looked over to him. He was on his knees, barely holding on to his stand. The energon from his cut was dripping down his stand and making a small pool underneath him. He was trying desperately to keep from breaking down, although he was already broken enough.

"Alright, if you guys just head on over to your elecetroID and vote, unless someone besides Swindle has an objection," Monobear asked.

…

…

…

…

…

"NARP!"

Onslaught froze as he turned to Nightbeat.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Blurr asked, uncertain.

"Uh, that's a no," Wildrider translated.

"Oh, in that case, come on! Why not?" Blurr asked. Nightbeat spoke and Wildrider translated.

"He says there is too many unanswered questions in this case," he replied.

"So? We don't need to know every little step, we just need to know the outcome," Blurr rebuked. "Swindle killed Vortex like the backstabbing, two-bit scumbag that he is. We all know he has a history of betrayal that would surpass even Starscream, so is it any surprised that he would do something like this?"

"Shut it!" Onslaught shouted, glaring at the racer. "That's _my_ soldier you're talking about and I won't let anyone falsely accuse him."

"Falsely accuse him? Does that mean…"

"Yes, while he did attacked Vortex, I think he's innocent of actually killing him and I'm going to prove it," Onslaught told the group as he prepared to give his onslaught of arguments. "First off, I want Swindle to update his testimony, got that!?" he told his subordinate.

"Uh, yeah. Doing that right now!" Swindle replied.

**Ammo Updated: Swindle's Testimony**

**Saw Hound passed his door at 1:00**

**Met Vortex at the library at 11:20, engaged in a struggle with him, and eneded up stabbing him. Returned to his room at 11:30 where he stayed up the rest of the night.**

"Next, I would like to ask someone who more than likely knows more than he's letting on and I want to wring the truth out of him," he pronounced.

"Who would that be?" he asked, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Simple, I call for…"

* * *

 

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

Brawl

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

Counterpunch

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~


	21. Chapter 2: Trial PT 2

**Do you have the facts straight?**

**1.** **Monobear File #2**

Victim: Vortex

Location of Discovery: Archives.

Additional Notes: Victim's body has sustained massive amounts of blunt force injury, multiple parts being dismember. Multiple stab wounds littered the body. Head decapitated.

**2\. Knife**

Found embedded in the victim's chest where the T-cog resides. Unable to be removed.

Is a regular kitchen knife.

**3\. Vortex's T-cog**

Tried to use it when the knife hit him.

**4\. Knife Wounds**

Victim was covered in Knife wounds, but they looked different from the knife embedded in his chest.

**5\. Wire**

Used to restrain the victim to the table.

**6\. Broken Table**

Table used to torture Vortex was from the library and split in half.

**7\. Numbers under the table**

Numbers are etched under the tables. The one Vortex was tied to was number eight.

**8\. Archive Door Opening.**

Door was opened at 11:30 PM last night.

Scavenger was the one who opened it.

**9\. Swindle's Testimony**

Saw Hound passed his door at 1:00 PM.

Met Vortex at the library at 11:20, engaged in a struggle with him, and eneded up stabbing him. Returned to his room at 11:30 where he stayed up the rest of the night.

**10\. First Floor Infirmary**

Still barred shut to keep Knock Out in.

**11\. Knock Out's Testimony**

Heard footsteps walking past the first floor infirmary to the stairs at a little after 12:30.

**12\. Ammo Gained: Chart of Desks**

Shows placement of desks. The number nine desks appeared to be out of ordered and the number eight desk missing.

**13\. Giant Crack in Floor**

A crack on the floor that came from a massive impact. Found under table nine.

**14\. Third Floor Railing**

Railing on third floor catwalk was bent inward.

**15\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Up at A/V room from 8:30 PM until 1:00 AM.

**16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony**

Up at fourth-floor lounge together. Saw no one. Both were there at 10:30 PM. Mixmaster left at 12:45 AM while Blurr left at 1:15 AM.

**17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior**

Both of the Constructicons were trying to sneak into archive.

**18\. Energon at Body**

Definitely bodily energon.

**19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern**

Neck was mostly ripped apart except for a small part that was cut off.

**20\. Obsidian Shard**

A piece of Obsidian found in the body.

**21\. Green Paint Scrape**

A jagged piece of metal had green paint scrape on it. Doesn't match any of the paint jobs in the school.

**22\. Energon-Stained Finger**

Vortex's right index-finger is stained with energon.

**23\. Fifth Floor Railing**

Railing at fifth floor outlier was bent outward.

**24\. Messily Cleaned Energon**

Energon stains found on the fifth floor next to bent railing.

**25\. Energon Pool**

A pool of unclean energon found behind a datapad shelf.

**26\. Swindle's Name**

Found behind a datapad shelf behind written on the floor.

**27\. Bookshelf Corner**

Jutting corner from bookshelf with energon dripping from it.

**28\. Energon Trail**

Trail starting at bookshelf and leading away from it.

**29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle**

The location of the struggle is right above the number nine desk's position.

**30\. Hound's Testimony.**

In art room next to library's third floor entrance from 7PM to 1AM.

**31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.**

An obsidian scalpel that had the tip broken off.

**32\. Bit of Tubing.**

Found in the trash with some energon in it.

**33\. Clean Medical Equipment**

The fourth floor infirmary equipment was cleaned recently.

**34\. Missing Wire**

Wire in the fourth floor infirmary was missing.

**35\. Gash in Victim's head.**

Severely damaging attack done to Vortex's head. Could've killed him or majorly injured him.

**36\. Broken Spinal Strut**

Spinal strut at base of neck is broken.

**37\. Broken Face**

Face appear to be broken by a cylindrical object.

**38\. Swindle's Knife Block**

Two knives were missing.

**39\. Swindle's Note**

Note asking Swindle to come to library at 11:30 PM

**40\. Vortex's Journal entry**

Send notes to the Combaticons beside Onslaught to meet him in the fifth floor of the library.

**40\. Strange Device**

Knock Out found it in his room

**41\. Map of dorm rooms**

A map that identifies which dorm room someone lives in.

* * *

_Court is now in session_

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

Brawl

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

Counterpunch

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

**Scavenger**

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~

* * *

"Scavenger, would you tell what your involvement in all of this was?" Onslaught asked.

"Me?!" Scavenger asked, shocked.

"Yes. You. Now," Onslaught emphasized. Scavenger was looking at him, confused.

"But, I wasn't involved in all of this," Scavenger said, shaking a bit.

"Onslaught, I know you're trying your best to protect Swindle, but Scavenger? Really?" Blurr asked with a chuckle.

"Now, now, let him speak," Mirage said.

"What, about how that dysfunctional wreck who's constantly on the verge of a mental breakdown could kill Vortex? That's impossible," he shot back.

Onslaught gave a short groan as another debate sparked among the group.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate:_

Ammo Available:

Archive Door Opening

Swindle's Testimony

Constructicons' Strange behavior

BLURR: This is all a big waste of time.

BLURR: The real murderer is **right in front of us** …

BLURR: and you're concentrating on Scavenger!

CHROMEDOME: Well, several people's whereabouts **are unaccounted for**.

MIXMASTER: Look, Scavenger being involved is impossible.

MIXMASTER: I know him and he wouldn't kill anyone **unprovoked**.

HOIST: I've heard that come from murderer's love ones before.

PERCEPTOR: He's got a point.

MIXMASTER: No he doesn't!

NAUTILATOR: Can we stop this?! Besides Swindle…

NAUTILATOR: … **no one has been acting suspicious** **.**

BEACHCOMBER: Haven't we covered this enough?

BEACHCOMBER: It's still obvious that Swindle **is the killer** this time around.

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: That's wrong!

Ammo used: Constructicons Strange Behavior

* * *

"The Constructicons have been trying to sneak their way into the archives throughout the whole investigation. I wouldn't exactly call that 'normal," Onslaught told him.

"Heh, well, I guess that's true," Nautilator agreed. "That was pretty suspicious looking."

"That's hardly enough evidence to go by," Blurr told him.

"Still shady business," Onslaught told him.

"Yeah, well the difference is that Swindle's has a metric ton of evidence against him, while you have shown none that he was there," Blurr scoffed.

"I would, if you would shut up for a moment," Onslaught talked down to the racer. Blurr glared at the tactician before backing down.

"Fine, but if what you show isn't definite proof that Scavenger's involve, I'll make a motion to go ahead a vote for wasting our time," Blurr told him.

"Blurr, patience," Ratchet told him. "We lose nothing from hearing him out."

"Nice to hear a voice of reason," Onslaught praised.

"The evidence," Blurr pressured.

"Right, as I was saying,, there is one conclusive piece of evidence that proves that Scavenger is involve and that is…

* * *

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear File #2

2\. Knife

3\. Vortex's T-cog

4\. Knife Wounds

5\. Wire

6\. Broken Table

7\. Numbers Under the Table

8\. **Archive Door Opening**

9\. Swindle's Testimony

10\. First Floor Infirmary

11\. Knock Out's Testimony

12\. Chart of Desks

13\. Giant Crack in Floor

14\. Third Floor Railing

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony

17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior

18\. Energon at Body

19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern

20\. Obsidian Shard

21\. Green Paint Scrape

22\. Energon-Stained Figure

23\. Fifth Floor Railing

24\. Messily Cleaned Energon

25\. Energon Pool

26\. Swindle's Name

27\. Bookshelf Corner

28\. Energon Trail

29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

30\. Hound's Testimony

31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.

32\. Bit of Tubing.

33\. Clean Medical Equipment

34\. Missing Wire

35\. Gash in Victim's head

36\. Broken Spinal Strut

37\. Broken Face

38\. Swindle's Knife Block

39\. Swindle's Note

40\. Vortex's Journal entry

41\. Strange Device

42\. Map of dorm rooms

* * *

"The archive door opening," Onslaught told him.

"Huh, what does that has to do with me?" Scavenger asked.

"In order to use the archive door, you have to wave your electroID over it. Once it accepts it, it puts it in its own archive of people who activated it. And Scavenger…"

"You were the one who opened it at 11:30 last night!" Onslaught declared.

"What?!" Scavenger yelled out, holding his head.

"You were the one who opened it. There's no arguing against it!"

"Yes there is!" Mixmaster butted in. "Yesterday, Scavenger let Vortex borrowed his electroID and he didn't give it back," Mixmaster explained.

"You only saw fit to tell us that now?" Blast Off questioned, annoyed.

""Does it matter?" Blurr scoffed. "It suggests that Scavenger has nothing to do with it, so it's best just to move-"

"No!" Bludgeon yelled, slamming his fist on the table. "I know for a fact that what he says is a lie."

"What, how can you be so certain?" Mixmaster asked.

"Wait, I remember," Beachcomber said, thinking it through. "It would be impossible for Vortex to have borrowed Scavenger's electroID."

"Okay, I'm confused," Onslaught said.

"Look in your rules," Bludgeon told him. Onslaught quickly brought his electroID out and looked in the rules section and quickly figured it out.

"Ah," Onslaught let out. "This proves you're lying Mixmaster," Onslaught accused.

"What, how dare you," Mixmaster growled out. "I bet you're bluffing."

"Mixmaster, must we really-"

"Shut it. I've had enough of you," Mixmaster interrupted. "Nothing that you have can disprove this.

* * *

* * *

_Panic Talk Battle!_

SHIELD X7

MIXMASTER: You're bluffing!

SHIELD X6

MIXMASTER: Scavenger wasn't anywhere at the crime/

SHIELD X5

MIXMASTER: There isn't any other indications that he was there.

SHIELD X4

MIXMASTER: Quit protecting Swindle!

SHIELD X3

MIXMASTER: You know Swindle is the real killer.

SHIELD X2

MIXMASTER: Nothing else indicates Scavenger's involvement.

SHIELD X1

MIXMASTER: There's no evidence!

* * *

SHIELD DESTROYED!

MOIXMASTER: **There's nothing that proves Scavenger didn't give his electroID to Vortex**!

DECIPHER BULLET!

Wasn't allow to He

He wasn't allow to

ONSLAUGHT: This does!

* * *

"Rule 12," Onslaught told him.

"Huh?" Mixmaster asked.

"Rule 12 forbids anyone from lending their electroID out to anyone, correct Monobear?" Onslaught asked.

"Exactly, Onslaught. If Scavenger had lend out his electroID out to anyone, he would be dead already," he agreed.

"Therefore, the only way Scavenger's electroID card to be used was if he had used it himself," Onslaught explained, glaring at Scavenger. "Now, how about you explain how your electroID card was used," Onslaught ordered.

"But… but I had nothing to do with it," Scavenger whispered.

"Repeating it to yourself isn't going to change the facts," Rewind said.

"I wasn't, honestly. I just wanted to escape," he said.

"This building, so you killed him," Brawl said, cracking his fists together.

"No. I wanted to escape the archives," he said.

"Huh?"

"Yesterday morning, when we were exploring the archives, I went to check the upper floors to see if I could find any different information on them. When it came time to leave, I didn't heard it until the door closed. At that time, I got left behind, so I had to wait there for twelve hour until door opened," Scavenger explained.

"What? That can't be, can it?" Bumblebee asked the group.

"You know, I don't remember seeing him for the rest of the day," Blast Off said.

"Neither did I," Blurr agreed.

Slowly, everyone chimed in that they didn't see him for the rest of the day.

"Nice to see everybody remembers me," Scavenger said, depressingly.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Dead End asked.

"Tell me, who would be the first person people suspect in this case?" he asked.

"The person who opened the door," Hoist said. "It makes sense to keep quiet about t, whether you're guilty or not."

"We still haven't figured out if he's guilty or not," Perceptor remarked.

"There's one more thing I want to said," Scavenger requested.

"Hmm?" Perceptor wondered.

"I saw Vortex," Scavenger said.

"You did?" Brawl asked.

"He was dead," Scavenger explained. At that, the court was confused again.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense!" Brawl butted in again. "When we found the body, the state of it had to mean he was tortured."

"Well, let me say again, he was already dead," Scavenger told the courtroom. "I was walking through the library, heading for the steps n the middle, to get to the second floor and head to my room. On was on the second floor catwalk when I noticed something," Scavenger began to explained.

"What?" Swindle asked.

"Vortex's body was on the first floor, on top of a desk that was broken. His head was hanging on by two wires barely connected to the rest of his body. An arm and a leg was dislodged as well. It looked like the chest had caved in on itself in the center. There was energon all over where he was. It was pretty easy to see because the nighttime lights still shine on most of the first floor," Scavenger explained.

"But, that isn't possible," Drift said. "We all saw the body, right?"

Onslaught thought this through. He needed to think before he gave his thoughts.

* * *

Logic dive!

…

Question #1: Is Swindle telling the truth for once?

A Yes

B No

…

**A Yes**

…

Question #2: Is Scavenger telling the truth?

A Yes

B No

…

**A Yes**

…

Question #3: What killed Vortex?

A The gashed to the head

B Torture

C. Something else

…

**C. Something else**

ONSLAUGHT: This is how it went!

* * *

"Scavenger and Swindle are both telling the truth in their testimony, which means that we've gotten something wrong from the very beginning," Onslaught said.

"What's that?" Blurr asked.

"The cause of death! And I won't let us vote until we figure it out."


	22. Chapter 2: Trial PT 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I graduated yesterday, so I should be able to work on this more consistently.

**Do you have the facts straight?**

**1.** **Monobear File #2**

Victim: Vortex

Location of Discovery: Archives.

Additional Notes: Victim's body has sustained massive amounts of blunt force injury, multiple parts being dismember. Multiple stab wounds littered the body. Head decapitated.

**2\. Knife**

Found embedded in the victim's chest where the T-cog resides. Unable to be removed.

Is a regular kitchen knife.

**3\. Vortex's T-cog**

Tried to use it when the knife hit him.

**4\. Knife Wounds**

Victim was covered in Knife wounds, but they looked different from the knife embedded in his chest.

**5\. Wire**

Used to restrain the victim to the table.

**6\. Broken Table**

Table used to torture Vortex was from the library and split in half.

**7\. Numbers under the table**

Numbers are etched under the tables. The one Vortex was tied to was number eight.

**8\. Archive Door Opening.**

Door was opened at 11:30 PM last night.

Scavenger was the one who opened it.

**9\. Swindle's Testimony**

Saw Hound passed his door at 1:00 PM.

Met Vortex at the library at 11:20, engaged in a struggle with him, and eneded up stabbing him. Returned to his room at 11:30 where he stayed up the rest of the night.

**10\. First Floor Infirmary**

Still barred shut to keep Knock Out in.

**11\. Knock Out's Testimony**

Heard footsteps walking past the first floor infirmary to the stairs at a little after 12:30.

**12\. Chart of Desks**

Shows placement of desks. The number nine desks appeared to be out of ordered and the number eight desk missing.

**13\. Giant Crack in Floor**

A crack on the floor that came from a massive impact. Found under table nine.

**14\. Third Floor Railing**

Railing on third floor catwalk was bent inward.

**15\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Up at A/V room from 8:30 PM until 1:00 AM.

**16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony**

Up at fourth-floor lounge together. Saw no one. Both were there at 10:30 PM. Mixmaster left at 12:45 AM while Blurr left at 1:15 AM.

**17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior**

Both of the Constructicons were trying to sneak into archive.

**18\. Energon at Body**

Definitely bodily energon.

**19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern**

Neck was mostly ripped apart except for a small part that was cut off.

**20\. Obsidian Shard**

A piece of Obsidian found in the body.

**21\. Green Paint Scrape**

A jagged piece of metal had green paint scrape on it. Doesn't match any of the paint jobs in the school.

**22\. Energon-Stained Finger**

Vortex's right index-finger is stained with energon.

**23\. Fifth Floor Railing**

Railing at fifth floor outlier was bent outward.

**24\. Messily Cleaned Energon**

Energon stains found on the fifth floor next to bent railing.

**25\. Energon Pool**

A pool of unclean energon found behind a datapad shelf.

**26\. Swindle's Name**

Found behind a datapad shelf behind written on the floor.

**27\. Bookshelf Corner**

Jutting corner from bookshelf with energon dripping from it.

**28\. Energon Trail**

Trail starting at bookshelf and leading away from it.

**29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle**

The location of the struggle is right above the number nine desk's position.

**30\. Hound's Testimony.**

In art room next to library's third floor entrance from 7PM to 1AM.

**31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.**

An obsidian scalpel that had the tip broken off.

**32\. Bit of Tubing.**

Found in the trash with some energon in it.

**33\. Clean Medical Equipment**

The fourth floor infirmary equipment was cleaned recently.

**34\. Missing Wire**

Wire in the fourth floor infirmary was missing.

**35\. Gash in Victim's head.**

Severely damaging attack done to Vortex's head. Could've killed him or majorly injured him.

**36\. Broken Spinal Strut**

Spinal strut at base of neck is broken.

**37\. Broken Face**

Face appear to be broken by a cylindrical object.

**38\. Swindle's Knife Block**

Two knives were missing.

**39\. Swindle's Note**

Note asking Swindle to come to library at 11:30 PM

**40\. Vortex's Journal entry**

Send notes to the Combaticons beside Onslaught to meet him in the fifth floor of the library.

**40\. Strange Device**

Knock Out found it in his room

**41\. Map of dorm rooms**

A map that identifies which dorm room someone lives in.

* * *

_Court is now in session_

* * *

"The actual cause of death?" Blurr asked.

"Yes. It's pretty obvious we've been deceive from the very beginning on where and how he died," Onslaught said.

"Then what's the point of staging the torture," Hound asked.

Onslaught thought that through. The point of the torture was…

* * *

To exact revenge

To make it harder to figure out what killed Vortex

Irony

The culprit is a sick individual.

* * *

**To make it harder to figure out what killed Vortex.**

* * *

"To make it harder to figure out what exactly killed him," Onslaught answered. "With all those wounds, it makes it harder to figure out which is the killing blow."

"Ugh, then it's going to take forever to figure out what killed him," Skywarp complained.

"Hey Swindle, why don't you tell us how you killed him and save us the trouble?" Blurr requested.

"I didn't kill him!" Swindle shouted out.

"Right…" Blurr muttered, glaring at the merchant.

"Uh, should I put my testimony down?" Scavenger asked nervously.

"Isn't that obvious?" Counterpunch asked.

Right...," Scavenger muttered before getting his electroID out.

**Ammo Gained: Scavenger's Testimony**

**Was stuck in the archives until 11:30 P.M. when he opened it and found Vortex's body on top of a broken desk, mutilated.**

"Right, now how do we find the actual cause of death?" Mirage asked everybody.

"Well, let's discuss it. I'm sure we'll figure something out if we put our heads together."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo available:

Gash in Victim's Head

Strange Neck Wound Pattern

Wire

Broken Spinal Strut

BLURR: Now, how did Vortex died?

REWIND: How about the _**stab wounds**_!

REWIND: I'm sure one of them hit his spark.

SKYWARP: How about the _**decap-whatever**_.

SKYWARP: It looked pretty grisly.

BRAWL: How about whatever _**split him in half**_?

BRAWL: That looked like it could kill.

PERCEPTOR: Could it have been _**poison**_ again?

HOUND: Maybe that _**gash in his head**_?

BLURR: So, we're stumped.

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: I agree!

Ammo used: Strange Neck Wound Pattern

* * *

"That decapitation is the most suspicious one," Onslaught said.

"That's how you pronounce it?" Skywarp asked.

"According to Ratchet, the neck wound had a strange pattern to it. Most of it was ripped off, but a couple of the wires were cut off with a blade of some sort," Onslaught told them.

"Huh. If that was true, then most of the head was ripped off with blunt force trauma of some sort, than sliced off with a blade," Knock Out said. "How peculiar."

"But what could've caused that?" Drift asked.

Onslaught already knew what cut it.

* * *

_Present Evidence:_

1\. Monobear File #2

2\. Knife

3\. Vortex's T-cog

4\. Knife Wounds

5\. Wire

6\. Broken Table

7\. Numbers Under the Table

8\. Archive Door Opening

9\. Swindle's Testimony

10\. First Floor Infirmary

11\. Knock Out's Testimony

12\. Chart of Desks

13\. Giant Crack in Floor

14\. Third Floor Railing

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony

17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior

18\. Energon at Body

19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern

20\. Obsidian Shard

21\. Green Paint Scrape

22\. Energon-Stained Finger

23\. Fifth Floor Railing

24\. Messily Cleaned Energon

25\. Energon Pool

26\. Swindle's Name

27\. Bookshelf Corner

28\. Energon Trail

29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

30\. Hound's Testimony

31\. **Broken Obsidian Scalpel**

32\. Bit of Tubing.

33\. Clean Medical Equipment

34\. Missing Wire

35\. Gash in Victim's head

36\. Broken Spinal Strut

37\. Broken Face

38\. Swindle's Knife Block

39\. Swindle's Note

40\. Vortex's Journal entry

41\. Strange Device

42\. Map of dorm rooms

* * *

"The scalpel is what was used to cut the rest of the neck apart," Onslaught said.

"What?" Drift asked.

"How can you be so sure?" Drift asked.

"Because-"

"Because I found an obsidian shard in his body, correct?" Ratchet asked.

"Uh, correct," Onslaught agreed, slightly annoyed. "Which means that Vortex's body was-"

**HOLD ON!**

Onslaught glared at the medic. "I hate to backtrack, but I noticed a flaw in your previous judgement."

"And what would that be?" Onslaught asked.

"You said that Vortex wasn't killed in the Archives, correct?" Ratchet asked.

"Correct?"

"Well, then, how did the energon get there?" Ratchet asked. "I know for a fact that the energon there came from the body, so how did it get there?"

"Uh," Onslaught said.

"You don't know? Then it's just as I thought. You're wrong," Ratchet said.

"No, wait. I'll think of something," Onslaught requested.

"Well then, you better come up with something quick," Ratchet said, "because I don't believe you."

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available:

Energon at Body

Missing Wire

Bit of Tubing

RATCHET: If Vortex was really killed outside the archives…

RATCHET: then there would be no energon in there.

RATCHET: However, when we opened up the room…

RATCHET: Energon was all over the body.

RATCHET: That means Vortex had to have been killed there.

…

Development

…

ONSLAUGHT: But what if there was a way to move energon there?

RATCHET: That's impossible.

RATCHET: **There is no way to move Vortex's energon there.**

RATCHET: There wasn't a device the culprit could use to move it.

RATCHET: **It has to be Vortex's energon there!**

RATCHET: There is no other explanation.

RATCHET: Which means that Vortex died in the Archives!

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: I can challenge that claim!

Sword used: Bit of tubing.

* * *

"What if that wasn't Vortex's energon?" Onslaught asked.

"Huh?" Ratchet asked.

"I'm saying, what if the culprit drained energon from his own body to transfer there?" Onslaught asked.

"What, but is there anything to support that?" Ratchet asked.

"There was a bit of tubing found in a infirmary. An inspection reveal that it's bodily energon in there," Onslaught told Ratchet. "Someone drained his energon and carried it to the archive using a cube to carry it."

Ratchet stood silently as he thought things through. "I got a quick question? Who here has medical training?" Ratchet asked.

"Well, every Autobot is taught basic aid on the battlefield," Jazz said.

"All of my men know how to give aid," Onslaught replied.

"I know a bit," Scavenger replied nervously.

"I'm a chemist, not a medic," Mixmaster told them.

"I know just as much as you, Ratchet," Knock Out replied.

"Is there a point to the question?" Blurr asked

"Yes. I'm saying, in order to do that, you need to know some basics of medical training. If you didn't, you wouldn't be able to do that," Ratchet said.

"Ah, so you decrease the suspect pool by asking about that, correct?" Dead End asked.

"Exactly, although our two prime suspects are still suspicious," he said, glaring at the two of them. Onslaught cursed himself as he gave away that information. Now everyone has more ammo to use on him.

"Still, you didn't eliminate many suspects," Chromedome pointed out. "The only ones we can safely cross off are the Stunticons, Nautilator, Bludgeon, Skywarp, Counterpunch, and Mixmaster."

"That's still seven people we don't have to worry about," Ratchet said.

"Well then, where do we go from here?" Wildrider asked. Nightbeat said something, causing him to translate. "Nightbeat says we figure out what kill Vortex once and for all," Wildrider told the group.

"Yes. That has been alluding us since we've first started this," Bludgeon agreed.

"Well, whatever it is, it had to have happen in the library," Hoist said.

"No doubt behind it," Dead End agreed. "Let's try and figure this out."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available:

Numbers under the desks

Chart of Desks

Broken Table

DEAD END: The murder occurred **in the library**.

DEAD END: The question is, how was he killed?

SMOKESCREEN: Well, it probably has something to do with the decapitation.

SMOKESCREEN: After all, it is suspicious looking.

BLAST OFF: Could it have something to do _**with the desks**_?

RATCHET: My guest, there's a _**weapon hidden there**_ we missed.

HOIST: Possible, but we don't know.

HOIST: We were pretty thorough with the library.

BRAWL: Maybe Onslaught was _**wrong about the library**_.

BRAWL: Vortex probably did died in the archives.

SWINDLE: That does absolutely nothing to help my case, Brawl.

BRAWL: Sorry.

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: I agreed!

Ammo used: Chart of desks

* * *

"Look at this chart," Onslaught ordered, showing it off. "There is an order to the desks that is broken by the number nine desk."

"Hmm, that's certainly odd placement of it," Perceptor murmured. "Is there a reason for it?"

"Obviously, Monobear sucks at patterns," Mixmaster scoffed.

"Maybe there is something more to it," Chromedome said.

"What about the missing desk?" Rewind asked.

"The number eight desk was the one used to help set up the tortured," Ratchet said.

"Yes, it was…" Onslaught muttered as he remembered something.

_Vortex's body was on the first floor, on top of a desk that was broken._

"That's it!" Onslaught shouted.

"What?!" Beachcomber shouted, freaked out by standing so close to him.

"Remember what Scavenger said? He said that Vortex's dead body was lying on top of a broken desk," Onslaught told the group. "The table was probably broken on accident."

"Well then, why was it broken?" Drift asked.

"And what's up with the numbering?" Beachcomber asked. "It looks messed up."

"Well, let's see," Onslaught murmured thinking it through. He dind't have enough to figuire out why the desk was broken, but he might be able to figure out the numbering problem.

* * *

_Logic Dive!_

Question #1: Where is the number nine desk usually at?

A: In the blank spot.

B: In the position it's in now.

C: In the archives.

…

**A: In the blank spot.**

…

Question #2: Where is the number eight desk usually located?

A: Where the number nine desk currently is.

B: In the blank spot.

C: In the archives.

…

**A: Where the number nine desk currently is.**

…

Question #3: Why are they switched?

A: Skywarp interfered.

B: To hide evidence.

C: To mislead people.

…

**B: To Hide evidence.**

ONSLAUGHT: I got it!

* * *

"The number eight and nine desks were switched to hide evidence," Onslaught explained.

"They did? But what could they be hiding?" Beachcomber wondered.

"The only thing it could be is…"

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear File #2

2\. Knife

3\. Vortex's T-cog

4\. Knife Wounds

5\. Wire

6\. Broken Table

7\. Numbers Under the Table

8\. Archive Door Opening

9\. Swindle's Testimony

10\. First Floor Infirmary

11\. Knock Out's Testimony

12\. Chart of Desks

13\. **Giant Crack in Floor**

14\. Third Floor Railing

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony

17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior

18\. Energon at Body

19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern

20\. Obsidian Shard

21\. Green Paint Scrape

22\. Energon-Stained Figure

23\. Fifth Floor Railing

24\. Messily Cleaned Energon

25\. Energon Pool

26\. Swindle's Name

27\. Bookshelf Corner

28\. Energon Trail

29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

30\. Hound's Testimony

31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.

32\. Bit of Tubing.

33\. Clean Medical Equipment

34\. Missing Wire

35\. Gash in Victim's head

36\. Broken Spinal Strut

37\. Broken Face

38\. Swindle's Knife Block

39\. Swindle's Note

40\. Vortex's Journal entry

41\. Strange Device

42\. Map of dorm rooms

* * *

"... is the giant crack on the floor."

"The crack in the floor?" Hound asked.

"Yes. It was located right under the ninth floor desk today," Onslaught said.

"But how can we be sure it's relevant?" Mixmaster asked.

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear File #2

2\. Knife

3\. Vortex's T-cog

4\. Knife Wounds

5\. Wire

6\. Broken Table

7\. Numbers Under the Table

8\. Archive Door Opening

9\. Swindle's Testimony

10\. First Floor Infirmary

11\. Knock Out's Testimony

12\. Chart of Desks

13\. Giant Crack in Floor

14\. Third Floor Railing

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony

17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior

18\. Energon at Body

19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern

20\. Obsidian Shard

21\. Green Paint Scrape

22\. Energon-Stained Finger

23\. Fifth Floor Railing

24\. Messily Cleaned Energon

25\. Energon Pool

26\. Swindle's Name

27\. Bookshelf Corner

28\. Energon Trail

29\. **Location of Fifth Floor Struggle**

30\. Hound's Testimony

31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.

32\. Bit of Tubing.

33\. Clean Medical Equipment

34\. Missing Wire

35\. Gash in Victim's head

36\. Broken Spinal Strut

37\. Broken Face

38\. Swindle's Knife Block

39\. Swindle's Note

40\. Vortex's Journal entry

41\. Strange Device

42\. Map of dorm rooms

* * *

"Because of the fact that it's directly above the struggle Swindle had with Vortex," Onslaught told them.

"Well then, how can we use this to our advantage?" Blurr asked. "We got all the pieces to figure out how Vortex died. We just have to put the puzzles together."

"What are some other things that could pin-point to how he died? " Dead End asked.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo available:

Energon Trail

Messily Cleaned Energon

Energon Pool

Swindle's Name

MIRAGE: We know **Vortex was stabbed by Swindle** at a little bit before 11:30.

BLUDGEON: Follow by hitting his head on the **bookshelf corner**.

PERCEPTOR: **He didn't get up** from that blow, so the culprit had his way with him.

MIXMASTER: Afterwards, Scavenger found him, dismembered.

RATCHET: Once he left, the actual killer came and arranged the tortured.

DEAD END: They used the medical equipment from **an infirmary** to do it.

DRIFT: He also took the time to clean up some of the incriminating evidence.

NAUTILATOR: Men, we're screw.

NAUTILATOR: **There's nothing here to identify the killer**.

BLURR: Unless, you know, Swindle killed him.

SWINDLE: Hey!

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: That's wrong!

Ammo used: Energon trail.

* * *

"There's a energon trail at the bookcase," Onslaught told them. "From what Nightbeat could tell, it was leading _away_ from the bookshelf, which meant Vortex got up again after his encounter with Swindle."

"Ah, I should've figured. Vortex had too much determination to just give up and die," Perceptor agreed. "But, where exactly did he go?" he asked.

"Is there anything there to identify where he went?" Bumblebee asked.

"I think so…" Onslaught said as he thought it through.

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear File #2

2\. Knife

3\. Vortex's T-cog

4\. Knife Wounds

5\. Wire

6\. Broken Table

7\. Numbers Under the Table

8\. Archive Door Opening

9\. Swindle's Testimony

10\. First Floor Infirmary

11\. Knock Out's Testimony

12\. Chart of Desks

13\. Giant Crack in Floor

14\. Third Floor Railing

15\. Beachcomber's Testimony

16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony

17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior

18\. Energon at Body

19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern

20\. Obsidian Shard

21\. Green Paint Scrape

22\. Energon-Stained Finger

23\. Fifth Floor Railing

24\. **Messily Cleaned Energon**

25\. Energon Pool

26\. Swindle's Name

27\. Bookshelf Corner

28\. Energon Trail

29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle

30\. Hound's Testimony

31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.

32\. Bit of Tubing.

33\. Clean Medical Equipment

34\. Missing Wire

35\. Gash in Victim's head

36\. Broken Spinal Strut

37\. Broken Face

38\. Swindle's Knife Block

39\. Swindle's Note

40\. Vortex's Journal entry

41\. Strange Device

42\. Map of dorm rooms

* * *

"It's more than likely that Vortex was at the energon the culprit failed to properly clean up."

"Makes sense," Blast Off agreed. "It's probably where Vortex had his fatal encounter with his killer."

"Uh, there's something weird in all this," Drift said.

"Huh?" Onslaught asked.

"If Scavenger's correct, there's energon on the first floor when Vortex died. Vortex was attack on the fifth floor and bleed a considerable amount of energon at the railing and the bookcase. But, we didn't see any energon on the other floors. Could the culprit have clean up some on the other floors," Drift asked.

"I didn't see any drag marks," Scavenger said, "so I don't think he dragged him there. He must've chased him around the room."

"Narp," Nightbeat said, butting in.

"Huh, why?"

'Why,' Onslaught thought to himself. Well, Scavenger already answered that himself.

* * *

It was too dark on the other floors.

It was impossible to do that.

The killer didn't have the resources

No one bleeds that much

* * *

**It was too dark on the upper floors.**

* * *

"It was too dark, just like you said," Onslaught said.

"But, you found some energon on the third floor, on the railing. That means he chased him, right?" Scavenger asked.

"Look at the trail Vortex was leaving behind as he exited the bookcase. It's pretty steady. I highly doubt with how dark it was, he would clean everything up."

"So, the energon on the third railing was isolated from the other? But how did it get there?" Scavenger said.

"That's the question we are all wondering, are we?" Blurr said.

"What if that railing was the only thing Vortex touched?" Wildrider asked.

"That's ludicrous," Perceptor said, "although I expected it from you. Your ideas always come out of left field."

'Only thing Vortex touched' Onslaught thought to himself. He thought it over to himself. 'Only thing Vortex touched. Only thing Vortex touched.'

'Only thing Vortex touched.'

…

…

…

'Only thing Vortex touched.'

…

…

…

…

'THAT'S IT!'

"Wildrider, you genius!" Onslaught shouted, to the surprised of everyone around.

"Uh, what?" Perceptor asked, confused.

"I know how Vortex died," Onslaught told the group.

"What killed him?" Mirage asked.

"I know why the killer covered it, as it's critical to figuring out the case," Onslaught said.

"How did he died?" Drift asked.

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram!_

_/_/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/

F/_/_/_/ _/O/ _/_/_/_/_/_/

F/E/L/_/ _/O/ _/_/_/_/_/_/

F/E/L/L/ T/O/ _/_/_/_/_/_/

F/E/L/L/ T/O/ G/R/_/_/_/_/

F/E/L/L/ T/O/ G/R/O/U/_/_/

F/E/L/L/ T/O/ G/R/O/U/N/D/

ONSLAUGHT: This is it!

* * *

"Vortex fell to his death," Onslaught said to the group.

"What…" Blurr murmured.

"And, to go along with this, it absolves Swindle of killing Vortex!" Onslaught told everyone.


	23. Chapter 2: Trial PT 4

**Do you have the facts straight?**

**1.** **Monobear File #2**

Victim: Vortex

 Location of Discovery: Archives.

Additional Notes: Victim's body has sustained massive amounts of blunt force injury, multiple parts being dismember. Multiple stab wounds littered the body. Head decapitated.

**2\. Knife**

Found embedded in the victim's chest where the T-cog resides. Unable to be removed.

Is a regular kitchen knife.

**3\. Vortex's T-cog**

Tried to use it when the knife hit him.

**4\. Knife Wounds**

Victim was covered in Knife wounds, but they looked different from the knife embedded in his chest.

**5\. Wire**

Used to restrain the victim to the table.

**6\. Broken Table**

Table used to torture Vortex was from the library and split in half.

**7\. Numbers under the table**

Numbers are etched under the tables. The one Vortex was tied to was number eight.

**8\. Archive Door Opening.**

Door was opened at 11:30 PM last night.

Scavenger was the one who opened it.

**9\. Swindle's Testimony**

Saw Hound passed his door at 1:00 PM.

Met Vortex at the library at 11:20, engaged in a struggle with him, and eneded up stabbing him. Returned to his room at 11:30 where he stayed up the rest of the night.

**10\. First Floor Infirmary**

Still barred shut to keep Knock Out in.

**11\. Knock Out's Testimony**

Heard footsteps walking past the first floor infirmary to the stairs at a little after 12:30.

**12\. Chart of Desks**

Shows placement of desks. The number nine desks appeared to be out of ordered and the number eight desk missing.

**13\. Giant Crack in Floor**

A crack on the floor that came from a massive impact. Found under table nine.

**14\. Third Floor Railing**

Railing on third floor catwalk was bent inward.

**15\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Up at A/V room from 8:30 PM until 1:00 AM.

**16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony**

Up at fourth-floor lounge together. Saw no one. Both were there at 10:30 PM. Mixmaster left at 12:45 AM while Blurr left at 1:15 AM.

**17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior**

Both of the Constructicons were trying to sneak into archive.

**18\. Energon at Body**

Definitely bodily energon.

**19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern**

Neck was mostly ripped apart except for a small part that was cut off.

**20\. Obsidian Shard**

A piece of Obsidian found in the body.

**21\. Green Paint Scrape**

A jagged piece of metal had green paint scrape on it. Doesn't match any of the paint jobs in the school.

**22\. Energon-Stained Finger**

Vortex's right index-finger is stained with energon.

**23\. Fifth Floor Railing**

Railing at fifth floor outlier was bent outward.

**24\. Messily Cleaned Energon**

Energon stains found on the fifth floor next to bent railing.

**25\. Energon Pool**

A pool of unclean energon found behind a datapad shelf.

**26\. Swindle's Name**

Found behind a datapad shelf behind written on the floor.

**27\. Bookshelf Corner**

Jutting corner from bookshelf with energon dripping from it.

**28\. Energon Trail**

Trail starting at bookshelf and leading away from it.

**29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle**

The location of the struggle is right above the number nine desk's position.

**30\. Hound's Testimony.**

In art room next to library's third floor entrance from 7PM to 1AM.

**31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.**

An obsidian scalpel that had the tip broken off.

**32\. Bit of Tubing.**

Found in the trash with some energon in it.

**33\. Clean Medical Equipment**

The fourth floor infirmary equipment was cleaned recently.

**34\. Missing Wire**

Wire in the fourth floor infirmary was missing.

**35\. Gash in Victim's head.**

Severely damaging attack done to Vortex's head. Could've killed him or majorly injured him.

**36\. Broken Spinal Strut**

Spinal strut at base of neck is broken.

**37\. Broken Face**

Face appear to be broken by a cylindrical object.

**38\. Swindle's Knife Block**

Two knives were missing.

**39\. Swindle's Note**

Note asking Swindle to come to library at 11:30 PM

**40\. Vortex's Journal entry**

Send notes to the Combaticons beside Onslaught to meet him in the fifth floor of the library.

**40\. Strange Device**

Knock Out found it in his room

**41\. Map of dorm rooms**

A map that identifies which dorm room someone lives in.

**42\. Scavenger's Testimony**

Was stuck in the archives until 11:30 P.M. when he opened it and found Vortex's body on top of a broken desk, mutilated.

* * *

_Court is now in session!_

* * *

"Woah, whoa, hold on. He fell to his death? That's… that's insane," Nautilaor said.

"But it would explain several things," Dead End told him.

**NO IT WOULDN'T!**

"That makes no sense," Brawl argued. "I mean, come on, that's-that's stupid."

"Actually, I'm inclined to agree with him Brawl," Blast Off said.

"Well I don't. This was personal and they wouldn't finished Vortex off by tossing him to his death. It's too quick," Brawl shot back.

"Brawl, you may not be as smart as me, but surely you realize that it has to be the truth," Blast Off said, not backing down.

"I don't believe this," Brawl replied angrily. "It makes not a single bit of sense."

"Alright, fine. Onslaught, back off from this. I'll take care of this misunderstanding," Blast Off told his leader, getting ready for battle. "Now then, allow me to prove the error of your logic, Brawl."

"You can't, because it's wrong," Brawl said, ready to defend his claim.

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

_Blast Off vs. Brawl_

Swords Available:

Strange Neck Wound

Giant Crack on Floor

Third Floor Railing

Fifth Floor Railing

Vortex's T-cog

BRAWL: This was a personal vendetta.

BRAWL: The killer wouldn't have just toss Vortex off the railing.

BRAWL: He would beat him down…

BRAWL: He would mutilate him…

BRAWL: And then finished him off.

BRAWL: Aside from that, Vortex couldn't have fell to his death.

…

Development

…

BLAST OFF: But what if something was malfunctioning while he was falling?

BRAWL: That wouldn't happen.

BRAWL: It was impossible for him to have fallen to his death.

BRAWL: All he had to do **was transform to his alt mode** …

BRAWL: and he would **still be alive**.

BRAWL: The killer would never be that stupid.

* * *

Blast Off: That's false.

Sword used: Vortex's T-cog

* * *

"Don't you remember the state of Vortex's T-cog?" Blast Off asked him.

"Huh?"

"You claim that Vortex would still be alive if the culprit toss him off the railing, but that can't be true because Swindle's knife was stuck in his T-cog, remember? He couldn't use it," he pointed out with disdain.

"He's right, I did," Swindle told Brawl. "I forgot about it due to the shock and left it in there. It would be impossible for him to change alt modes as he was falling and his attempt caused the knife to get stuck."

"It would also explained a lot of the evidence we've found," Blast Off mentioned. "If Vortex was pushed off the railing, it would bend outward, but when he hit the third floor railing on the way down, it would bend inward."

"And it would match the wound on his face, since the railing is cylindrical and he hit it with a lot of force," Ratchet said.

"And it would cause that giant crack in the library floor," Counterpunch said, thinking it through. "Vortex's landed on the number eight desk, breaking through it and hitting the floor, more than likely headfirst."

"In order to hide it, the killer staged the tortured scene with the archives, being able to shift the blame to someone else when Scavenger left the door opened and with the knife that Swindle stuck him with," Chromedome surmised.

"They switch the two desks because the number nine door was closest to the archives and we would assumed that they were using the closest desk instead of hiding evidence," Hoist finished off.

"You see, Brawl? Vortex had to be tossed off the railing?" Onslaught told him.

"Guh, well... I guess you prove you're point," Brawl meekily said. "I was in the wrong."

"Yes, but there's still one thing that I would like to point out," Blurr mentioned.

"What's that?" Onslaught asked.

"I still don't see anything that absolves Swindle from committing the crime," he said.

"Are you blind?" Onslaught asked.

"No, just pointing out the fact that Swindle could've just throw Vortex off the railing," Blurr pointed out.

"Except he couldn't," Onslaught growled, slamming his fist on the desk.

"Yes, he could! I see nothing to contradict that and I'm sure nothing you will say will prove me wrong," Blurr said, refusing to accept Swindle as the non-guilty party. "It's impossible not to be him."

* * *

_Panic Talk Battle!_

SHIELD X7

BLURR: Swindle is still the killer.

SHIELD X6

BLURR: There's nothing here that absolves him!

SHIELD X5

BLURR: Swindle tossed him off the railing.

SHIELD X4

BLURR: He murdered his gestaltmate in cold blood.

SHIELD X3

BLURR: Swindle is a scumbag.

SHIELD X2

BLURR: There's nothing here to prove Swindle's innocence.

SHIELD X1

BLURR: You're letting your emotions get in the way!

SHIELD DESTRYOED!

BLURR: **Swindle was able to toss Vortex off the railing!**

DECIPHER BULLET!

too high railing was

Railing was too high

ONSLAUGHT: You're wrong.

* * *

"The railing is too high," Onslaught said.

"Huh?" Blurr asked.

"Oh yeah, I remember," Skywarp said. "Brawl said it was impossible for a short person to fall over."

"Yeah. You somehow managed to toss yourself over it, somehow," Brawl mentioned. "It was quite stupid of you."

"Hey, it was all Laserbeak's fault- OW!" he yelled out as Laserbeak nipped him.

"Now that you mention it, that railing is abnormally high," Jazz agreed. "I had trouble looking over it. I could toss someone over it, but it would be a struggle. I really doubt Swindle could've thrown Vortex off the railing."

"In order to toss Vortex off the railing, you have to be tall enough to actually toss him off," Onslaught told Blurr. "Considering the fact Vortex was up and moving and he's physically bigger than him, it's impossible for Swindle to actually toss him off the railing. Even in Vortex's weaken state, he could still have taken Swindle on and make it too difficult for him, which is why the killer had to have been someone of equal or better build than him," Onslaught finished, glaring at Blurr for any objection.

"That… makes sense," Blurr murmured, accepting defeat.

"You know, if it wasn't for the fact that your alibi is full-proof, I would assumed you hammering on Swindle was a way to hide the fact that you killed Vortex," Onslaught said, continuing to glare at him.

"Yeah, well, whatever," Blurr brushed him off. "We're back to a wall, since Scavenger is equally small and couldn't toss Vortex to his death. We have no more suspects," he reminded him.

"Well then, let's talk about who couldn't do it," Blast Off suggested. "As we discuss before, the Stunticons, Nautilator, Bludgeon, Skywarp, Counterpunch, and Mixmaster doesn't have the medical training to pull this off. Swindle, Scavenger, Rewind, Bumblebee, and Beachcomber are all too short to kill Vortex. Blurr has an alibi establish by Mixmaster, while Jazz has an alibi supported by Skywarp. Let's go from there about everyone else," Blast Off told the group.

'Wait a second,' Onslaught thought to himself. 'Someone else has a foolproof alibi as well.'

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available:

Knock Out's Testimony

Hound's Testimony

First Floor Infirmary

Monobear File #2

BLAST OFF: Who could've done it from the people without alibis?

BRAWL: Well, **Hound is still in the running** and he told us himself he was out that night.

HOUND: If I did that…

HOUND: do you think I would **tell the truth** about me being out that night?

BLURR: Hey, he has a point.

BLURR: Unlike quite a few people, he has been **completely honest**.

BEACHCOMBER: How about Knock Out?

BEACHCOMBER: He could've **broken out of his room**.

BEACHCOMBER: He also has the medical know-how to pull it off.

SKYWARP: If that's the case, then **Ratchet is equally suspicious**.

SKYWARP: Right height and medical proficiency.

RATCHET: Where did you learn how to say proficiency?

COUNTERPUNCH: How about **Chromedome**?

COUNTERPUCH: He's certainly tall enough and acting strangely.

CHROMEDOME: I'm okay now.

CHROMEDOME: I've been acting okay since **yesterday morning**.

SCAVENGER: We're screw.

SCAVENGER: There's too many suspects!

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: I know that's wrong.

Ammo used: First Floor Infirmary

* * *

"Knock Out has a fool-proof alibi as well. The first-floor infirmary was still bared-up from when we locked him in the other day. He couldn't have broken out of the infirmary, which means he's innocent."

"15 down. 12 more to go," Blast Off said.

"Still a lot of suspects, but at least we've prove over half of them innocent," Blurr said. "And I guess we can count the rest of the Combaticons innocent for a total nine."

"Yeah, but how can we limit the suspect list even more?" Hoist asked.

"Well, excluding the other Combaticons, the other suspects are Hound, Ratchet, Hoist, Mirage, Perceptor, Chromedome, Nightbeat, Smokescreen, and Drift," Bludgeon told them.

"Guys, which of you screwed up?" Jazz asked, depressed.

"Well, which of them was, uh, 'questioned' by Vortex in the past?" Rewind asked.

"I remember exactly. I was in charge of keeping track of who Vortex tortured with some assistance from Swindle," Blast Off told the group. "As far as I remember, the ones left who had been tortured here were Hound, Hoist, Smokescreen, Mirage, and Perceptor. Any objections, Swindle?"

"Not that I remember," Swindle agreed.

"Well then, we lower it down to those five, correct?" Rewind asked.

"But what if it was someone taking vengeance for everyone Vortex interrogated?" Blurr asked. "Either of the other four could be doing it for them."

"If that's true, than we can't lessen the list any more than we can now," Rewind shot backed.

"Well, let's look through the evidence again and see if we can find anything to limit the suspect list again," Blurr said, exasperated.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo available:

Knock Out's Testimony

Wire

Gash in Head

Green Paint Scape

Broken Table

BLURR: Okay, Vortex was tossed off the fifth floor balcony to his death.

BLURR: After that, the killer **staged the scene** to make it look like he was tortured to death.

BRAWL: The killer used the items from the **fourth floor infirmary** to help stage it.

CHROMEDOME: What can we use to decrease the suspects list?

NAUTILATOR: Could how the killer _**tied the wires**_ be used?

NAUTILATOR: Maybe he has a distinctive pattern.

HOIST: Could the culprit have _**left something incriminating behind?**_

SWINDLE: What about _**Hound**_?

SWINDLE: He's the only one who has admitted to being out…

SWINDLE: …that's still capable of committing the crime.

HOUND: I told you, I was **painting in the third floor** at that time.

HOUND: I didn't leave the room until I met Beachcomber on the way down the stairs.

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: That's right!

Ammo Used: Green Paint Scrape

* * *

"The killer got sloppy and left a green paint scrape behind," Onslaught told the group.

"I already told you, it doesn't match anyone's paint job here," Swindle told him. "If you were right, it would mean that either Hoist or Hound killed him."

"Scavenger, you didn't do it, so answer honestly, did you scrape your paint job in the side room?" Onslaught asked.

"Uh, yeah. Right here in the arm," he said, showing off the scrape in his right shoulder.

"That proves it. The killer scraped his arm at the same place the Scavenger scraped his arm. When it came into contact, Scavenger's arm messed up the color a little bit. Everyone, show your arms now, even if you're innocent!" Everyone slowly show off their arms, waiting for approval, including Onslaught himself. Onslaught examined each one of them.

"None of them got a scrape on them," Onslaught said, confused.

"Wait, Hound was in the art room. He could've used the paint to repaint his shoulders after murdering Vortex," Jazz said, remembering it.

"No, I didn't," Hound protested.

"The paint job matches. It would have to be darker than Scavenger's horrible light green," Knock Out said.

"The scrape was nearly dark-green. It matches Hound paint job," Swindle told him.

"Could there be any other solution?" Skywarp asked.

"Wait, is there anything else we can used?" Hound asked.

"As far as I can tell, no," Jazz said, depressed. "Why did you do it, Hound?"

"I didn't," Hound reaffirmed his stance.

"Shut it! You kill Vortex and I'm going to enjoy watching you get executed," Brawl growled out. "Hey, you stupid bear. Can we vote?"

"With that attitude, no," Monobear huffed, insulted.

"Wait! One last question," Hound requested. "This is for Swindle."

"What? I already told you, I didn't do it," Swindle said.

"It's not that. Look, you were up all night, right? Can you tell me how many doors closed after 12:30 when the archive door closed?"

"Huh, I was watching my door, making sure no one got in my room. I distinctly remember you passing by my door," Swindle accused him.

"It's not what you saw, it's what you heard," Hound told him.

"Yarp!" Nightbeat agreed right before saying something to Swindle.

"He says for you to count the amount of doors closed in your head," Wildrider once again translated.

"What? What's the point of this?" Swindle asked.

"Just do it!" Hound ordered. "All of our lives are on the line here." Swindle glared at the two before running through things in his head.

"Let's see. I heard one door closed at just a little after 12:30, I's sure. It sounded very close. Then, not long after, I heard another one, sounding pretty distant. Then, I'm guessing just a little after one, I heard one close very nearby and Hound passed my door, going to his room and entering it. About fifteen minutes later, I heard another door closed."

"I used the connecting hallway staircase to get down," Mixmaster told the group.

"So did I," Blurr reciprocated. "That's why he didn't see me or him past by his door."

"So, there's nothing wrong with my testimony?" Swindle asked.

"Wait, are you sure you heard five doors closed?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah," Swindle told them.

"But that doesn't make sense. Only Hound, Mixmaster, Blurr, and Beachcomber admitted to being out and about last night."

"Could that be Scavenger?" Nautilator asked.

"No. I went to my room immediately after I opened the archive doors and saw Vortex's body. That had to be just a little after 11:30," Scavenger defended himself. "They couldn't possibly be me."

"So whose were they?" Mirage asked.

'Who were they,' Onslaught thought to himself. 'Could it possibly be… ?'

* * *

Hound

Monobear

The killer

Vortex

* * *

**The killer**

* * *

"Could they possibly be the killer's," Onslaught asked.

"It has to be!" Hound shouted.

"Let's not jumped to conclusions," Chromedome said. "For all we know, it could just be a random person who stayed up late."

"But wouldn't they have mentioned that now?" Hound asked. "The only reason they haven't is if they're hiding something, I'm sure of it. Besides, even if I did kill Vortex, I would've burned that fragger alive."

"Hound, can't you go down quietly?" Brawl asked, cracking his fists.

"Well, if one of those was the killer's door closing, which one was it?" Dead End asked.

Onslaught though that through. Hound was the fourth one, no doubt about it, but which were all the others?

* * *

_Logic Dive!_

…

Question #1. Which door closing was Mixmaster?

A The first

B The second

C The third

D The fifth

…

**The second**

…

Question #2. Which door closing was Blurr?

A The first

B The third

C The fifth

…

**The fifth**

…

Question #3. Which door closing was Beachcomber?

A The first

B The third

…

**The third**

ONSLAUGHT: I got it!

* * *

"Mixmaster's was the second, Blurr's was the fifth, and Beachcomber's was the third. Since we already know Hound's was the fourth, the other person had to be the first one," Onslaught told the group.

"But, who was it?" Blurr asked.

Onslaught thought that through. The unknown person was out that night. He hasn't told anybody about him being up. No one heard him besides Swindle…

…

…

Wait, someone else did heard him.

…

…

…

And he said something he shouldn't know about if he was innocent.

…

…

…

And he matches the profile of the suspect perfectly…

"I know who the other person is!" Onslaught shouted. "And… I think he might be our killer."

"Huh? Who?" Hoist asked.

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

Brawl

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

Counterpunch

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~


	24. Chapter 2: Trial PT 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Heartbreak ahead.

**Do you have the facts straight?**

  **1.** **Monobear File #2**

Victim: Vortex

Location of Discovery: Archives.

Additional Notes: Victim's body has sustained massive amounts of blunt force injury, multiple parts being dismember. Multiple stab wounds littered the body. Head decapitated.

**2\. Knife**

Found embedded in the victim's chest where the T-cog resides. Unable to be removed.

Is a regular kitchen knife.

**3\. Vortex's T-cog**

Tried to use it when the knife hit him.

**4\. Knife Wounds**

Victim was covered in Knife wounds, but they looked different from the knife embedded in his chest.

**5\. Wire**

Used to restrain the victim to the table.

**6\. Broken Table**

Table used to torture Vortex was from the library and split in half.

**7\. Numbers under the table**

Numbers are etched under the tables. The one Vortex was tied to was number eight.

**8\. Archive Door Opening.**

Door was opened at 11:30 PM last night.

Scavenger was the one who opened it.

**9\. Swindle's Testimony**

Saw Hound passed his door at 1:00 PM.

Met Vortex at the library at 11:20, engaged in a struggle with him, and eneded up stabbing him. Returned to his room at 11:30 where he stayed up the rest of the night.

**10\. First Floor Infirmary**

Still barred shut to keep Knock Out in.

**11\. Knock Out's Testimony**

Heard footsteps walking past the first floor infirmary to the stairs at a little after 12:30.

**12\. Chart of Desks**

Shows placement of desks. The number nine desks appeared to be out of ordered and the number eight desk missing.

**13\. Giant Crack in Floor**

A crack on the floor that came from a massive impact. Found under table nine.

**14\. Third Floor Railing**

Railing on third floor catwalk was bent inward.

**15\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Up at A/V room from 8:30 PM until 1:00 AM.

**16\. Mixmaster and Blurr's Testimony**

Up at fourth-floor lounge together. Saw no one. Both were there at 10:30 PM. Mixmaster left at 12:45 AM while Blurr left at 1:15 AM.

**17\. Constructicons' Strange Behavior**

Both of the Constructicons were trying to sneak into archive.

**18\. Energon at Body**

Definitely bodily energon.

**19\. Strange Neck Wound Pattern**

Neck was mostly ripped apart except for a small part that was cut off.

**20\. Obsidian Shard**

A piece of Obsidian found in the body.

**21\. Green Paint Scrape**

A jagged piece of metal had green paint scrape on it. Doesn't match any of the paint jobs in the school.

**22\. Energon-Stained Figure**

Vortex's right index-finger is stained with energon.

**23\. Fifth Floor Railing**

Railing at fifth floor outlier was bent outward.

**24\. Messily Cleaned Energon**

Energon stains found on the fifth floor next to bent railing.

**25\. Energon Pool**

A pool of unclean energon found behind a datapad shelf.

**26\. Swindle's Name**

Found behind a datapad shelf behind written on the floor.

**27\. Bookshelf Corner**

Jutting corner from bookshelf with energon dripping from it.

**28\. Energon Trail**

Trail starting at bookshelf and leading away from it.

**29\. Location of Fifth Floor Struggle**

The location of the struggle is right above the number nine desk's position.

**30\. Hound's Testimony.**

In art room next to library's third floor entrance from 7PM to 1AM.

**31\. Broken Obsidian Scalpel.**

An obsidian scalpel that had the tip broken off.

**32\. Bit of Tubing.**

Found in the trash with some energon in it.

**33\. Clean Medical Equipment**

The fourth floor infirmary equipment was cleaned recently.

**34\. Missing Wire**

Wire in the fourth floor infirmary was missing.

**35\. Gash in Victim's head.**

Severely damaging attack done to Vortex's head. Could've killed him or majorly injured him.

**36\. Broken Spinal Strut**

Spinal strut at base of neck is broken.

**37\. Broken Face**

Face appear to be broken by a cylindrical object.

**38\. Swindle's Knife Block**

Two knives were missing.

**39\. Swindle's Note**

Note asking Swindle to come to library at 11:30 PM

**40\. Vortex's Journal entry**

Send notes to the Combaticons beside Onslaught to meet him in the fifth floor of the library.

**40\. Strange Device**

Knock Out found it in his room

**41\. Map of dorm rooms**

A map that identifies which dorm room someone lives in.

**42\. Scavenger's Testimony**

Was stuck in the archives until 11:30 P.M. when he opened it and found Vortex's body on top of a broken desk, mutilated.

* * *

_Court is now in session_

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

**Brawl**

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

Counterpunch

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~

* * *

"Brawl, you were the fifth person up that night," Onslaught said softly, looking away from him.

"What?!" Brawl shouted, glaring at his leader. "That's crazy."

"You went through all the trouble of proving one of your men innocent, only to turn around and blame another one?" Blurr asked, glaring at Onslaught. "Some kind of leader you are."

"Why, Onslaught?" Swindle asked him in disbelief. "I mean, yeah, those two fight a little bit but they wouldn't kill each other."

"This is the most ridiculous thing you ever said, Onslaught," Blast Off chastised.

"I never said he killed him," Onslaught backpedalled. "I'm just saying that he has to be the fifth person up that night."

"I just don't see it," Drift murmured. "One gestalt-mate killing another? Don't they usually have closed bonds?"

"Uh- just look. Blast Off, you've been with him the whole time, right?" Onslaught asked.

"Correct, I have," Blast Off confirmed.

"When has he used his electroID?"

"When he added the testimony of Mixmaster and Blurr. That's the only time," Blast Off told him. "He hasn't used it since."

"Then tell me how he knew that the fourth-floor infirmary was the place the tools come from," Onslaught beckoned.

"Huh?" Blast Off asked.

"We haven't mentioned the fourth floor infirmary as the place where the tools come from since the trial started and only me, Jazz, and Swindle know which floor is it on. And yet, when we were talking about evidence the culprit left behind, Brawl mentioned that the fourth-floor infirmary is the place where the killer got the tools to help staged it. Now tell me, how did he know that?" Onslaught asked.

"Guah," Brawl gasped. "It was a lucky guess."

"I want to believe that, I honestly do, but you also fit the profile perfectly. You're one of the tallest here and you have dark-green paint job," Onslaught pointed out.

"That's stupid! I wasn't up last night," Brawl grimaced. "We should be concentrating on who the actual fifth person is."

"He's right. It couldn't be him. Let's just concentrate on the fifth person," Blast Off agreed.

"Yeah, let's come up with ways to identify him," Swindle agreed.

Onslaught gave a slight groan before he prepared himself. If Brawl was the murderer, he had to expose him in order to save Swindle and Blast Off.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo available:

Swindle's Testimony

Knock Out's testimony

Vortex's Journal Entry

Swindle's Note

Map of Dorm Rooms

SWINDLE: Right, so the fifth guy was close by.

SWINDLE: Maybe it was **Ratchet**?

BLAST OFF: It could be.

BLAST OFF: He has the necessary characteristics.

BLURR: Or it could just be another **innocent bystander**.

BLURR: Could they have went out to get something from the other floors?

MIXMASTER: Like what?

MIXMASTER: We sure **didn't see anyone** on our floors.

BEACHCOMBER: I didn't see anyone on my floor.

HOUND: Same here.

SKYWARP: Ugh, this is useless.

SKYWARP: **No one else was up that night that could help**.

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: That's wrong.

Ammo used: Knock Out's testimony.

* * *

"Knock Out heard footsteps last night at just after 12:30," Onslaught told the group.

"That's true. I most certainly did. They were heading the ways of the stairs right next to my room."

"Which fits the time frame of the person who first entered his door last night," Onslaught said.

"And how does that help us?" Bumblebee asked.

"Because, only one person could've used that staircase and that was Brawl," Onslaught answered.

"Uh?"

"Look at where his room his. It's right next to the staircase. The only other person who could've benefited from this aside from Brawl was Beachcomber and we already establish when Beachcomber went to his room," Onslaught pointed out.

"T-that's true," Beachcomber said nervously.

"Brawl, its best just to admit you were up last night," Onslaught told him. Brawl glared at him before answering.

"Fine, I was. So what?" Brawl asked.

"That makes you a suspect in the murder," Perceptor said coldly.

"Hey, so what? Unlike Hound, I don't have a motive for killing him and I had no reason to see him that night," Brawl told the group.

"Didn't Vortex send notes to you to go meet him?" Nautilator asked. Brawl flinched before answering.

"Yeah, but I didn't go meet him," Brawl said, remaining steadfast.

"Wait, I'm still confused about something," Blurr said, thinking things through. "Did Brawl returned to his room last night?"

"He did. I remember seeing him going into his room as I entered it," Hoist said. "It was about 10:00. I remember Monobear making his announcement of nighttime."

"Knock Out, how many footsteps did you hear after nighttime was announced?"

"Just the one footstep at a little past 12:30," Knock Out replied.

"Then Brawl must've gone to the library first, correct?" Blurr asked. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Then how did he reached it in the first place? With me and Mixmaster on the fourth, Beachcomber on the fifth, Hound on the third, and Swindle on the second, how did he get there?" Blurr asked.

"Exactly," Brawl agreed. "It had to be somebody past Swindle's room who went up there."

"No, it doesn't" Onslaught argued. "Last I check, he had a perfect oppourtunity to-

**NO I DIDN'T!**

"Are you serious?" Brawl questioned. "How could I have actually reached the library.

"Brawl, playing dumb won't work on me, especially when you killed one of our own!"

"Like the pits I did! There's no way I would've killed Vortex!"

"Then why does everything point towards you!?"

"I don't know, but you have to believe me, especially after you hear my argument!"

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

_Swords Available:_

Hound's Testimony

Swindle's Testimony

Knock Out's Testimony

Beachcomber's Testimony

Blurr and Mixmaster's Testimony

BRAWL: As Hoist can testify, I entered my room at 10:00.

BRAWL: At that time, Swindle was watching everybody.

BRAWL: **There's no way I could get past him.**

BRAWL: Therefore, I'm not the killer.

BRAWL: Which was riduclous in the first place!

BRAWL: I mean, one gestaltmate killing the other...

BRAWL: ...that's unforgiveable.

* * *

ONSLAUGHT: This ends!

Sword used: Swindle's testimony.

* * *

"Have you forgotten what the whole first part of the trial was about! Swindle admitted to attacking and nearly killing Vortex. That means he had to leave the room to do that," Onslaught ranted. "He admitted it himself!"

"That's true," Blurr agreed, all of it coming together. "Brawl could've left for the note Vortex send out to the Combaticons and left earlier than the time suggested, but slightly later than Swindle."

"But... that can't be. Brawl... would never...," Swindle murmured, on the verge of breaking down.

"You still haven't provided a motive," Brawl said, glaring at his leader. "Tell me, why I would kill Vortex!"

"I don't know! But all the evidence is pointing to you," Onslaught cried out in anguished.

"That's because he didn't kill him," Blast Off replied, anger seeping in to his voice. "We never found the scrape mark on him earlier," Blast Off told him.

"It's on him. It's just not where you think is," Onslaught told him.

"Would you shut up!?" Blast Off yelled at his commander.

* * *

_Panic Talk Battle!_

SHIELD X7

BLAST OFF: Brawl is innocent.

SHIELD X6

BLAST OFF: You lack correct judgment.

SHIELD X5

BLAST OFF: I don't see a scrape on him!

SHIELD X4

BLAST OFF: You're wrong.

SHIELD X3

BLAST OFF: It's impossible.

SHIELD X2

BLAST OFF: This is a pathetic charade.

SHIELD X1

BLAST OFF: Are you daft!

SHIELD DESTROYED!

BLAST OFF: **There isn't a scrape on him!**

DECIPHER BULLET

Scrape side on is

Scrape is on side

ONSLAUGHT: That's where it is.

* * *

"The scrape should be on his side," Onslaught told him. "He taller than most of us, so it's foolish to think it would be on his shoulders.

"That's stupid," Brawl scoffed, not noticing Jazz taking a look at it.

"He's right! It's right there," Jazz told the courtroom.

"Hey!" he shouted, glaring at the spy.

"It's over Brawl," Onslaught murmured, staring at him. "You're the killer."

Brawl had stopped glaring at his leader and decided to bury his head in his chest in a mixture of anger and regret, silently murmuring to himself: "There's no motive. There's no motive. There's no motive..."

"I just don't understand why you killed him," Onslaught murmured, barely able to keep himself together, "but that doesn't matter. All I know is that _did_ kill Vortex and put the rest of us in danger. I don't need a motive to prove that. Here's how you did it."

* * *

_Climax Logic!_

Chapter 1

This all started with Vortex. He wanted to have a meeting in the library on the fifth floor. He sent the message to three people: Swindle, Blast Off, and the killer. The note wanted them to meet him at 11:30. Vortex was affected by a strange virus that infected several people as well. This virus probably affected his decision-making skills and caused him to decide to ask them to meet him secretly in the library. 

Chapter 2

At 11:20, Swindle left early, leaving his room and heading to the library with a knife. Not long after him, the killer left and head over to the library as well. Swindle arrived at the rendezvous place, engaging in a conversation with Vortex. The problem was that Swindle also had the virus and made him much more paranoid than he usually was. Things quickly turned south and Swindle ended up stabbing Vortex and cracking his head on the bookshelf corner.

Chapter 3

Thinking that he had killed Vortex, Swindle tried to retrieve his knife only to find it stuck in Vortex's T-cog. He quickly decided to leave, leaving it behind, in case one of the other receivers of Vortex's note came up. Being found by what he thought was a caorpse would be the worst case scenario for him. He left, not noticing the culprit hiding. The culprit headed up the steps after Swindle had left, thinking he would find a dead body.

Chapter 4

However, Vortex proved to be a lot more difficult to kill than Swindle realized. Vortex, thinking he was dying, wrote Swindle's name in energon before gaining the strength to get up and walk out of the bookshelf, ready to fight Swindle if he had too.

Chapter 5

The killer had arrived on the fifth floor to see Vortex shambling away from the bookshelf. The killer went over to the bleeding Vortex. I don't know what the culprit was thinking, but one can assume that the culprit took one look at Vortex and decided that he had the perfect opportunity to kill him and go free-

BRAWL: SHUT UP!

_CLIMAX INTERRUPTED!_

* * *

"I have no reason! When are you going to learn that! No fragging reason!"

"Then why did you killed him!?" Onslaught asked him.

"NoreasonnoreasonnoreasonnoreasonNOREASON!" Brawl ranted and raved.

"Brawl, what's wrong with you!" Swindle asked him, scared.

"He's... having a breakdown!" Blast Off realized.

"Brawl, please snapped out of it!" Onslaught begged him.

"I HAD NO REASON!" Brawl shouted.

* * *

_Panic Talk Battle!_

SHIELD X8

BRAWL: I don't have a reason!

SHIELD X7

BRAWL: Why would I kill him!

SHIELD X6

BRAWL: No motive!

SHIELD X5

BRAWL: You're a failure!

SHIELD X4

BRAWL: The evidence is wrong!

SHIELD X3

BRAWL: No motive means I'm innocent!

SHIELD X2

BRAWL: Stop it!

SHIELD X1

BRAWL: Why are you the leader?!

SHIELD DESTROYED!

BRAWL: **There's no reason for me to kill him!**

DECIPHER BULLET!

ACCIDENT WAS IT AN

IT WAS AN ACCIDENT

ONSLAUGHT: This it it!

* * *

"It... was an accident, wasn't it?" Onslaught asked him.

"Guh," Brawl gasped, staying silent.

"Brawl, please explain to us what happen. You're the killer, it's a fact. Just... explain what Vortex did that cause you to kill him." At that, the court stayed silent as the looked at Brawl for an explanation.

"I... well, I can do that," Brawl said in a sorrowful tone. "I did not went up there with the intention to kill Vortex. I was- I was just trying to help him, but he went crazy. He attacked me. I thought I could just punch him and subdue him, but he latch onto me. I-I-I heaved him off me and the next thing I knew, he was s-screaming as loud as he could right before I heard an awful noise. I looked to see Vortex broken on the floor, dead. I…I…I… no idea what came over me," he told the group. "It was all just- just some terrible accident," he finished, unable to keep himself stable.

"I-I-I'm sorry for this, Brawl," Onslaught murmured solemnly.

"Just finished the rest of your explanation. I think you got the rest of it right," Brawl told him. "Just continue after Vortex died."

Onslaught gave a slow nod. "Alright."

* * *

_CLIMAX CONTINUE_

Chapter 6

At the same time, someone else was about to enter the library: Scavenger. Having been accidentally left behind earlier in the archives, he desperately wanted to escape. When the time came, he opened the door and got out. He headed up the stairs and up the catwalk when he saw the body of Vortex. Shocked, Scavenger hurried out of the room, the killer watching his movements as he left. With Scavenger's departure, he decided to make use of the archives.

Chapter 7

He went to the fourth floor infirmary and grabbed some medical tools and some wire. The killer than used some tubing to extract some of the energon for his scheme. After all of that, the killer head back to the archive and survey the area, accidently scraping himself when searching the side room for anyone else. Once that was done, the culprit began his cover-up.

Chapter 8

The killer moved the body and the table he crashed into the archive and began setting it up to look like a tortured scene, starting with using a scalpel to stab the body several times, accidentally breaking it in the progress. The culprit use the other scalpel to cut the rest of the wires connecting the head to the body and then cut the body in half. He then used the wires to bound Vortex's legs to the table and position the upper half like he was trying to escape. To finish it off, he used his own energon to cover the scene.

Chapter 9

With the archives done, the killer went to work in the library. He cleaned up the energon stains from where Vortex crashed and swap the table with the one at the archive to throw us off. He then went to the fifth floor to try and clean up the stains there, but the low light levels left some stains behind. With that done, the killer dispose of it and headed to his room, not noticing the energon he missed on the third floor railing where Vortex hit on the way down.

Chapter 10

However, he had a problem. Swindle's door was wide opened and watching for anyone to cross his field-of-vision. Unfortunately for the killer, his room laid right past Swindle's room. At the same time, Hound was painting on the third floor, Mixmaster and Blurr were hanging out together on the fourth floor, and Beachcomber was hanging out on the fifth floor. With none of this options available, the killer used the first floor to reach the stairs, unknowingly letting a sleep deprived Knock Out hear him walk past the barred infirmary. Having finally reached his room, the killer entered the room, his door closing alerting Swindle to his presence.

There was only one person who could've done all this, and unfortunately, it's you **Brawl**.

* * *

Brawl stood where he was, thinking it all out. Most of the people in there were expecting an even more violent outburst from him, but were surprised when all he did was give a small, relieving sigh and a short response.

"Thanks boss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, surprised? Again?


	25. Chapter 2: Execution and Aftermath

The court stood silent at Brawl's confession. Brawl, strangely, looked relieved at having been figured. His pose was more relaxed then it should be for someone who was about to head to his execution. Opposite of his reaction, Onslaught was holding on to his desk for dear life as he try to accept the fact that Brawl had killed Vortex and was about to be killed himself. Swindle was shaking like a leaf, the energon from his cut dripping ever so slightly into the puddle at Swindle's feet. Blast Off was calmed enough, but Hoist and Rewind next to him had definitely heard a hitch in his voice at Brawl's confession of guilt.

"Why?" Blast Off asked. "Why did you go up there?"

Brawl looked surprised by that question but answered quickly. "I was worried about him. I didn't think you or Swindle would come, so he was going to be up there by himself. I didn't want anyone to hurt him, so I decided to head up there. But, when I entered the library, I saw Swindle heading down the steps. I hid behind the nearest bookshelf and watched Swindle leave in a hurry, with what I'm sure was energon on his hands," Brawl said, glaring at the merchant. "I thought things between the two had ended violently, so I decided to head up there myself to make sure he was alright. You can figured out the rest," Brawl said, looking away from everyone. "Hey, bear, can we start the vote?" Brawl asked again.

"Well, you didn't call me stupid this time, so sure! Everybody get your electroID out and vote! This includes you, Beachcomber!" the bear singled out the geologist, who glared at the bear before reluctantly getting his electroID out. Onslaught glanced at everybody. Several of the people who were hesitant last time were voting quicker this time. The shock of it all was going away quickly and they were voting to save everyone else.

Onslaught finally drew his out, at the same time as Swindle and Blast Off. He looked down at the thirty square panels laid out in front of him, Soundwave and Vortex's picture being X out with Shockwave's. Onslaught moved his fingers to the picture containing Brawl's portrait and clicked on it. His pictured was blown up and the text box ask if he was guilty or not. Onslaught stared at the question for the longest time until he made his answer.

No

The picture retreated back and Onslaught went to a different picture: himself. He clicked on it and clicked yes, leaving his picture like the others who have died. The program confirmed his vote and went back to the main screen. He looked up to see that everyone else was done voting and all that left now was the reveal of whether or not they got it right.

"Alright, let's see if you're right!" Monobear said and the slot machine from nowhere started again. Everyone watched it spin until it landed on three pictures of Brawl. A burst of confetti and coins shower everyone with approval. "Bingo! Brawl, the Ultimate Brawler, killed Vortex, the Ultimate Interrogator. Most of you voted correctly, however, three of you voted wrong," he said, glaring out into the group. "Onslaught, Blast Off, and Swindle, voting for yourself is highly dangerous. You could've got everyone else killed."

"You guys didn't vote for me?" Brawl asked, shocked.

"H-how could we?" Blast Off stammered. "Voting for you would be sending you to your death."

"It wasn't your fault for killing Vortex," Swindle murmured bleakly. "It was just an accident. You shouldn't die for that."

"You're still my soldier Brawl," Onslaught said desolately, "which puts you under my care. I can't send you to your execution like this."

"Well, it doesn't matter, because the others made up for your failings," Monobear interrupted, glaring at them. "It's like you don't want to live. Oh, maybe one of you could commit suicide!" Monobear cheered happily.

"Shut up!" Brawl shouted at the bear before talking to his comrades again. "I'm sorry that it came to this."

"I am too," Onslaught agreed, barely keeping himself together. "I should've been able to stop this. I should've been able to keep you from fighting with each other. I should've kept Vortex from dying. Instead, you killed him and I'm letting you be executed."

"Boss, don't blame yourself," Brawl ordered him, looking into his optics. "This is my screw-up, not yours."

"But I should've-"

"No, you couldn't," Brawl told him frankly. "We all kept this meeting from you, Vortex ask to meet without you, Blast Off was too apathetic to go meet him, Swindle stabbed him, and I killed him. I don't see any faults from you in there," Brawl explained. "We all screwed up and I'm bearing them on my shoulders."

"I should be the one that has to bear it. I should be the one executed. I did nothing to stop all of this," Onslaught ranted.

"Boss, you know as well as I do that you need to stay alive for them," Brawl told him, glancing at the other two.

"B-but I can't just let you be e-executed like t-this," Onslaught sobbed, unable to hold himself together.

"You have no choice," Brawl told him. "You know the rules."

"Screw the rules!" Onslaught shouted.

"Aw, this is all so very despair inducing, but can you hurry up! I got an execution to do here," Monobear complained.

"Look, we don't have much time left, so let's finish this quickly," Brawl told them. "I want you all to live, for both me and Vortex. Don't just give up. The three of you need to live on and avenge us, you understand?" Brawl asked them.

"I-I-I think I got it," Swindle could barely said.

"I understand," Blast Off agreed, keeping himself together.

Onslaught kept his glared to the podium in front of him, unable to look at Brawl. This couldn't be happening could it? The game wouldn't be so cruel as to do this to him.

"Onslaught!"

He glanced up to Brawl, wanting an answer from him. Onslaught wanted to do anything else right now. He wanted to run. He wanted to save him. He wanted to just give up and die. Instead, he had to look at his soldier- no his _friend_ \- and tell him that he will protect Swindle and Blast Off, while sending him to his execution.

This was sadistic.

"I understand," Onslaught finally answered. "I'm sorry I can't save your life."

"Don't worry. I deserve this for killing Vortex," Brawl told them. "I'll miss you guys."

"So, are we ready to get the punishment going?" Monobear asked, exasperated.

"Yes, I think we are," Brawl answered, ready for his death.

"Well then, let's get started!" the bear cheered happily, getting his gavel out. "Everybody cheer for Brawl's execution," he told them as he slammed his gavel on the big red button that came out of the floor. No one had any time to react as chains came out of a doorway and dragged Brawl to his execution.

* * *

_GAME OVER_

_BRAWL HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY_

_COMMENCING EXECUTION_

* * *

_Brawl stood at the end of a long platform._

_Across from him came was an opened doorway to a darken hallway with the words 'EXIT' written in bold, red letters._

_Below him was a pit of spikes ready to impale him if he fell off._

_In-between him and the exit were five robots of varying size with Monobear's color scheme._

_Brawl slammed his fists together as he got ready for his final fight._

_Before the first robot in front of him could react, he had stormed through and slammed his fist through its head, knocking it off with a sea of sparks._

* * *

_TALK TO THE FIST_

* * *

_The next robot, much smaller than Brawl, tried in vain to land a blow only to be easily swept over the edge._

_The next robot was smarter than the last one, ducking under Brawl's fist and attacking the legs. However, this was met with Brawl grabbing it and slamming it to the floor, destroying the top half of its body._

_The next robot came up, almost matching Brawl's size, and punched Brawl in the face hard. Brawl counterattack with a kick to the bot's knee, making it stumble and not ready for when Brawl slammed his fist into its body and ripped its inner-machinery out._

_Before Brawl could finished with him, the next 'bot of equal size was already attacking, giving two swift punches to his face and kicking him away. Brawl stumbled for balance, keeping himself balance on the platform, and block the next two attacks from it._

_The bot stepped back and then immediately came back with a hard kick to Brawl's chest. Brawl stumbled even more as the bot quickly moved to finished him off, giving a swift punch to Brawl's face to knock him off…_

… _only to be met with Brawl capturing its fist with his hand._

_Before the bot could react, Brawl pulled his arm closer and used his other hand to smash into it, breaking the struts and wires in it. The bot barely had to react as Brawl grabbed his head with both his hands and crushed it messily. The 'bot stumbled around before falling off the edge to the spikes below._

_Brawl quickly traversed the platform and entered the darken hallway. As soon as he entered, the door behind him closed as the light came on to reveal an extremely long hallway._

_At the end of the hallway was a giant steel fist. As soon as the door closed, the rocket boosters started, sending the fist on a crash course to Brawl._

_Brawl immediately looked around for another way out of there. He realized very quickly that there wasn't a way out of here and the only way out was through the giant steel fist._

_Brawl glared at the fist, coming to terms with his death, before giving a running start for the fist. He wasn't going to go out like a wimp._

_Brawl ran at the fist full speed ahead. The two kept moving at each other, neither one backing down, as the two was about to meet. Brawl kept counting in his head when him and the fist would meet._

_5…_

_4…_

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

_Brawl raised his fist and brought it forward._

_CRASH!_

* * *

Onslaught turned his head as Brawl was crushed by the fist. He didn't need to see that. No one needed to see that.

"Wow! That was exciting! For a second there, I thought for sure he wouldn't get to see what I had in store for him in the exit, but I'm glad he didn't disappoint," Monobear praised the execution.

"You sick slagger," Onslaught growled out. "How could someone as sadistic as you exist?"

"Uh, because I can. I'm just that good," he bragged. "Well, I think we're done here, so I'll be on my-"

"Not so fast," Knock Out told him, glaring at the bear. "Today, when I went to my room, I found a strange device in the vents. Exactly what was that?" Knock Out asked.

"Oh, that. That was the motive," the bear answered.

"The motive?" Knock Out asked.

"Yes. Whenever anybody slept in the room with the device in it, it would affect their personality. Reversing the effects are easy. Either stay in a different room or find it and smash it," the bear told them.

"And you were just going to leave without telling us about that?!" Knock Out asked the creature.

"Uh, yeah. Good job on finding it though. It certainly saved you some trouble," Monobear told him. "Now then, good-bye. Sweet despair!" he told them, disappearing.

"Well, I guess we should head back up," Jazz told the group. "Good fine, Knock Out."

"Whatever," he said, heading towards the elevator. Slowly, everyone drifted into the elevator until the three remaining Combaticons remain.

"What can we do?" Swindle asked meekly.

"It's simple," Blast Off told him. "We stay alive."

"We have no choice," Onslaught said, looking at Swindle. "We need to leave and get your hand treated," Onslaught ordered.

"Yes, that would be a good idea," Blast Off agreed. "Come along, Swindle."

Slowly the three entered the elevator and Blurr pressed the button to go up. The 26 of them had survived another class trial, but with more blood on their hands.

Shockwave, Soundwave, Vortex, and Brawl.

They had to avenge them.

****Chapter 2: Hope Shattering on the Ground** (END)  
**

**Teachers alive: 26**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends another chapter and two more people dead. What can I say, I pull no punches (heh). Thanks to everyone who has read this far and supported me. I hope you keep reading as we head on to the Chapter 3.


	26. Chapter 2.5: Falling Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made a slip-up and accidentally post this on the wrong story. My bad. My thanks for Skywinder for pointing it out.

 

The elevator ride up was an uncomfortable silence amongst the group. While the previous ride up was disgust amongst each other over having Soundwave's energon on them, this one was silence in respect for the three remaining Combaticons as they mourn the loss of two of their members. The Autobots in the elevator may have been attacked many times in the past by the group, but they were useful in the post-war world, having a training to them most Decepticons didn't have and were good supervisors for them and most of the Autobots said they weren't too bad when you got to know them. Vortex and Brawl were two good resources and friends to the reconstruction effort and would effect it a bit, as well as having unknown side effects to the three remaining members. They had read reports of what happen when a member of a gestalt dies, saying that the other members were all greatly affected by it and acted more irrationally.

They all hope that wouldn't happen to the three in the elevator.

Blast Off was his typical aloof self, keeping to himself and making no efforts to acknowledge. Although, close optics could notice how much tighter he was holding himself with his arms. He didn't go up there. He didn't stop Swindle from stabbing Vortex. He didn't help Brawl subdue Vortex. He knew that the death of the two were partially on his shoulders.

Swindle was the exact opposite. He was hyperventilating, unable to keep his calm, cool façade he usually wore. He hold his hand where he cut it, trying to keep it from bleeding any more than it already has. Still, a small amount of energon was pooling under his feet. He had been the one to stab him. He was the one who slammed his head in the bookshelf corner, making him unable to tell friend from foe. He had been the one to prevent him from using his T-cog when he fell to his death. He was an accomplice to the case, unintentionally causing Vortex's death. The whole ordeal was his fault.

Onslaught was busy keeping Swindle from freaking out more than he already was. He usually had the role of the calm leader who knew what to do, but he didn't know exactly what to do. He didn't prepare a plan of attack if any of his men had fallen in combat, much less two of them, one murdered by the other. This was something he had no idea how to deal with this. All he knew was that he had to help Swindle's hand and try to keep him and Blast Off from going crazy.

Throughout the whole thing, one question ran through his mind: Why didn't Vortex send him a note to meet him like the others? Did he not trust him anymore? Did he suspect the other three of betraying them? Was it something else? He wanted to know what cost Vortex and Brawl's life, but he wasn't alive anymore.

The elevator stopped and the door opened. It was still the afternoon. They had the rest of the day to go through. A day to reflect on the trial. A day to mourn the fallen. A day to breathe a sigh of relief at not having to watch their back.

How morbid the place made their thought process.

* * *

"The cut isn't too bad," Ratchet said to Swindle as he covered the wound. "It didn't go too deep, although it did slightly cut one of the energon tubes. Best to just let the auto-repairing functions take care of it."

"He will be fine?" Onslaught asked, watching over his every little move.

"Yes. I say about five days will do it," Ratchet told him carefully, not wanting to get on a mourning Combaticon's bad side. "After that, your hand should be functioning just like it always should."

"That's good," Onslaught said in relief. "If any permanent damage happened to it…"

"I would've fixed it," Ratchet comforted him. "In case you forget, helping and fixing people is in my job description." Onslaught gave a small sigh.

"That's true. It's just that I worried about him," Onslaught told him.

"O-Ons, I-I'm fine. I can handle myself," Swindle stuttered, putting on a false front. "This isn't the first time something bad has happen to me."

"That's true, but with Brawl and Vortex gone…," he stopped, them a blank look, as if reminiscing something before shaking it on and continuing on. "We have to watch each other even more now. It's time to redouble our efforts and figure out how to take that fragging bear down for good and avenge them. No one does this to us and escapes unscathed," Onslaught said with determination that he really hoped was convincing.

"He's right," Ratchet agreed. "This bear thinks he can manipulate us into doing what he wants. No more murders must happen to our group."

"I don't know about you, but we told us that there wouldn't be any murders the first day we were here and it still happened. We said it again after the first murder. Still happened. What can we do?" Swindle asked them. "There's no escape. Anyone can turned against you. He keeps throwing motivations to get us to murder. I mean, what can we do against him?" Swindle asked them, unable to keep himself from being cynical.

"Swindle, quit thinking like that," Onslaught ordered. "We can't think like that. That's exactly what he wants us to do."

"He's right. If we can't trust each other, he will win, and we'll all be dead," Ratchet agreed.

"Except for one," Swindle murmured depressingly. "The one person who succeeds and gets away with it. The one person who murders someone and we can't figure out. You know what happens when that person succeeds? We'll all be executed, just what happen to Soundwave and Brawl. We'll all-"

SMACK!

Swindle held his cheek as Onslaught smack him with the side of his hand. "Swindle, keep it together, dammit! Do you want Brawl and Vortex to die in vain?!" he asked him.

"N-n-n-no, I don't," Swindle told him, scared.

"Then quit talking like this. Let me tell you right now, more than one person is making it out of this place alive," Onslaught told him. "We will pushed through this, figure out who this headmaster actually is, kill him, and get out alive, you understand me?" Swindle stared silently, unable to speak. "Swindle," Onslaught began again, gripping his shoulders gently, "do you understand me?" he asked again desperately. Ratchet watched the whole thing, realizing Onslaught was saying this for more than just Swindle.

"I-I-I understand," Swindle sputtered out, trying to keep his sanity together.

"Good," Onslaught breathe out in relief.

"Can I… can I go?" Swindle asked them.

"Ratchet?" Onslaught asked. Ratchet stared at the two before realizing they were talking to him.

"Uh, yeah. Sure," Ratchet mumbled simply. "My work here is done."

"Alright," Swindle said, getting off the table and leaving the room in a rush. Onslaught stared at where he Swindle left in a hurried. He guessed that Swindle was lying to him. Makes sense. He likes to lie about a lot of things.

"Thanks, Ratchet," Onslaught mumbled, stepping out of the infirmary and leaving him behind.

* * *

"Here's to another trial completed," Blurr said, pouring out some high-grade from Mixmaster for the people in attendance: Smokescreen, Knock Out, Skywarp, Jazz, and Mixmaster himself. "We survived for another day."

"But we lost two more," Jazz murmured darkly.

"Hey, I'm trying to lift everybody's spirits here, Jazz, and I don't want you to ruin it," Blurr chastised him, handing him a glass of high-grade.

"I may be more happy if we weren't in the same room as one of the Combaticons," he told him, flicking his head over to Blast Off sitting by himself, reading a datapad.

"It is kind of a bummer," Skywarp agreed, scratching Lazerbeak's neck.

"You think we should invite him over?" Smokescreen asked them.

"No," Blast Off murmured off-handedly, catching them off guard.

"He could hear us?" Knock Out asked in surprise.

"It's not that hard," Blast Off told them, not even turning his head towards them.

"We have to work on our stealth," Mixmaster murmured, taking a sip of his high-grade.

"Yes, you do," Blast Off agreed.

"…Wow, we suck at it," Blurr said. "Anyway, we survived another trial. Good job, group," he congratulated them, drinking his high-grade.

"No thanks to you and Mixmaster," Skywarp told them, taking a swig of his high-grade.

"What?!" Blurr sputtered, spitting out his high-grade. "You want to say that again?"

"Well, you and Mixmaster did hinder us during the trial. Mixmaster with his defense of Scavenger and you with your obsession to convict Swindle," he answered, leaving the two of them speechless.

"Wow, you were actually paying close attention to the trial," Knock Out said, surprised.

"Well, being framed for a crime kind of makes you think," Skywarp told them, taking another swig.

"Huh, I guess I can understand that," Jazz agreed, taking a sip.

"Hey, can you blame me?" Blurr asked them. "It looked pretty obvious to me."

"You didn't take the time to think that it was _too_ obvious," Knock Out chastised him. "You should've learn from the first trial that nothing is simple."

"Well, I was just trying to protect Scavenger. I know he couldn't have done it," Mixmaster told them.

"How do you know?" Smokescreen asked. "The situation we're in, anything could happen. One gestaltmate has already killed another. What makes Scavenger so special?"

"I just know," Mixmaster told them, not explaining it further.

"Hmph, alright. If you say so," Smokescreen agreed, finishing his glass. "Pout me another, will you?"

"Sure thing," Blurr agreed, bringing it back out with a little bit of a flashy style and pouring some into the glass. "There you go."

"Hah, nice moves. You sure you weren't invited as the Ultimate Bartender," he asked, taking a swig.

"Nope. They were cleared about that. Ultimate Racer is my fitting designation and I wouldn't change it for anything," Blurr told him. "Anybody want any more?" Before anyone could answer, the door slammed open and Swindle rushed in and headed for the bar. "What do you want, scumbag?" he asked him

"I need high-grade, now," Swindle told Blurr, looking unnerved.

"Uh, are you su-"

"Now!" Swindle yelled, slamming his fist on the bar.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Blurr told him, getting a glass and pouring some in it. "Here you go," he said, sliding it over to him. Swindle took it and chugged it down in one gulp.

"More!" he shouted slamming his glass on the table.

"Uh, I don't kn-"

"I said more!" Swindle shouted at him. Blurr glanced at Swindle before filling it up again.

"Swindle, are you okay?" Blast Off asked, sneaking up behind him.

"I'm fine! Get off my back, you haughty piece of scrap!" Swindle yelled at him before downing it again. "Come on, more!"

"Swindle, what's wrong with you?" Blast Off asked him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Get your hand off me!" Swindle yelled at him, brushing it aside before glaring at Blurr again. "More!"

"Swindle, why are you doing this?" Blast Off asked him.

"I need this," Swindle told him before glaring at Blurr again. "Hey, where's the high-grade?" he yelled at him.

"I think you need to rest, Swindle," Blurr told him.

"No, please, help me forget this. _Please_ …." Swindle practically begged him.

"No, don't," Blast Off told him, earning a fist to his chest from Swindle, sending him to the ground.

"I said shut up!" he told him.

"Okay, this is getting out of hand," Jazz said, getting up and heading to him.

"Swindle, you need to calm down. We're not you're enemy," Blast Off told him, getting back up.

"Then get me a frakking drink!" he yelled at them.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Swindle," Blast Off told him. "You need to calm down and go recharge," he tried to calm him down.

"I'll calm down as soon as you get me some more high-grade!" he yelled, glaring at Blurr. Jazz took his chance and sneak up behind Swindle and slide his arms under Swindle and restrained him. "Hey, let me go!" he struggled, trying to get himself free, although it wasn't looking like he was trying much.

"You know, for someone as loud as him, he's not struggling much," Jazz said,

"The high-grade must be taking effect on him," Blast Off said, coming over to help. "He's a bit of a light-weight."

"Let me go, you slaggers!" he yelled, giving a pitiful amount of struggle. "I need more, now!"

"Why?" Blast Off asked, wanting to help him.

"Brawl… Vortex… the whole frakking trial!" Swindle told him. "I just want to forget everything," he sobbed, unable to keep himself together.

"Swindle…" Blast Off murmured.

"I should've been the one executed. Not Brawl, me. It's all my fault," he confessed to Blast Off. "I tried to kill Vortex. Brawl was trying to help him. How is him being executed fair?!" he ranted to Blast Off, going limp. "It isn't. Why is this happening?" he asked everyone, who was speechless. They didn't expect him to crash this hard.

"Swindle," Blast Off said, his voice quivering, "let me take you to your room. _Please_." Swindle stared blankly at Blast Off, his optics fogged over, his pose withdrawn.

"Finnnnnne..." he slurred. Jazz trade-off Swindle to Blast Off, who used his extremely tall form to hold Swindle bridal style.

"Everything's fine, Swindle. I'll take you to your room and you can rest the night," Blast Off comforted him, heading out of the room with him. The watchers stared at the scene with bewilderment and worried.

"Do you think Swindle will be fine?" Smokescreen asked the group after they left.

"I don't know, but I recommend that we pay attention to his ingestion of low-mid-and-high-grade. I've seen people like him turn to them to deal with their inner pain. He could become an addict," Knock Out told the group.

"Scrap…" Blurr muttered, sounding a little guilty. "You think me constantly egging him on as the killer could've affected him?"

"Hmm, maybe. Addiction isn't my forte, you know," Knock Out told him. "All that mental stuff, you should probably ask someone who specializes in behavior."

"What should we do?" Skywarp asked them.

"Watching him would probably be the best thing," Mixmaster told the group. "I don't know anybody who specializes in behavior here, so we should just make sure he doesn't have a downward spiral."

"I agree. It's the best option," Knock Out told the group.

"Well then, let's hope the best for Swindle," Jazz told the group.

"And for the group as a whole," Blurr said, leaving it off on a dark note.

* * *

"Ah, yes! This should be the last one!" Drift said as he retrieved the box from Swindle's room.

"I have disposed of the one in Beachcomber's room," Counterpunch said, entering the room.

"Which means we are all good. Tomorrow morning, everyone will be fine and uncrazy. I call that a happy ending," Drift said happily.

"Happy? I doubt that," Counterpunch said as he took the box from Drift's hand and slamming it to the floor, breaking it.

"Hey, I wanted to do that," Drift complained. "Breaking stuff is always cathartic."

""Does it really matter?" he asked him.

"…No," Drift huffed. "Anyway, why isn't this a happy ending?" Drift asked him.

"Because two more people are dead."

"Oh, yeah, well, that was the only way this was going to end. I mean, if we didn't, we all be dead. The rest of us being alive means a happy ending for us," Drift argued back.

"Not every situation has a happy ending. Only a best ending," Counterpunch countered. "Us being alive is the _best_ ending, but not a _happy_ ending."

"But we're all still alive and no one else is dead. That's good right? We'll all wake up tomorrow with a renew conviction to find a way out, we'll all be fine, and the rest of us will escape."

"What are you two doing in here?" The two turned their heads to see Blast Off carrying Swindle in his arms, moving and slurring some of his words.

"Why himmm? Whhhhy?" he kept saying.

"Destroying the box," Drift told him, glancing at Swindle with worry in his eyes. "Is he-"

"No," Blast Off told them, walking in the room. "Get out."

"As you wish," Counterpunch agreed, heading out of the room. Drift hesitated with the request, but seeing the glare in his optics, agreed, heading out of the room and closing it behind him.

"So," Counterpunch said as he stepped out, "still think this is a happy ending?" That everybody's fine? That tomorrow, all will be okay?"

Drift stayed silent.


	27. Chapter 3: New World of Consumption

**Chapter 3: Sworn to Secrecy (BEGIN)**

**(Ab)normal Days**

Blurr walked through the hallway to his room. The stress of the day and the high-grade was getting to him and he had to call it a night. He had left the others behind to journey to the second floor. Now he was at his door and waved his electroID over it to gain entrance. The door unlocked and he opened it, stumbling in. He flicked on the lights and closed the door, then he went to his bed and laid on top of it. He tried to get comfortable on it, readying himself for recharge.

_THUD!_

Blurr jumped straight up, staring at where the sound came from. It came from the bathroom, which was closed at the moment. Nervous, Blurr got up and slowly made his way over there, making sure to not make much noise while entering the room. When he reached the room, he slowly opened it and peeked inside.

There, he found Swindle sitting on the floor with his back up against the wall. In his hand, he held a energon-stained blade, fondling it with the other hand. "Swindle?" Blurr asked, confused.

"Wha…?" he asked, lifting his head up to stare blankly at him.

"Are you alright?" asked, stepping in the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, looking back to his knife, feeling the blade.

"Uh, why don't you come out?" Blurr asked. Swindle didn't listen to him, still staring at the knife.

DING! DONG!

"Hello. Would Blurr and Swindle come to the Auditorium room at this time? This is really special," Monobear announced to them.

Blurr stared at the announcement in bewilderment. Just him and Swindle? What did he want with them?

"We better go," Swindle told him as shot up and walked out of the bathroom without even so much as looking at Blurr. Blurr looked at Swindle when he left before following along, taking note that the time said 12:00 on it. It was strangely late for him to be calling them. Ignoring it, he went down to the auditorium where Swindle was waiting for him. "Come on," he ordered. "You're making him late." Blurr glared at the Combaticon, noting how strange he was acting, however he put that at the back of his mind and entered to find the place entirely dark except for the stage, which was entirely dark, except for the stage, which had three lights on it. One for Monobear and the other two for two empty podiums close to each other, face-to-face.

"Welcome you two to the academic coliseum!" Monobear greeted them as they entered the room. "Would you two take your places?" Blurr glared at the scene in confusion, but noticed that Swindle wasn't quickly heading over to the podium on the right and taking his place. Seeing nothing else to do but follow the demented bear's orders, Blurr took his place at the other podium, standing face-to-face with Swindle. "Are you two ready to start the trial?" he asked.

"Trial?" Blurr asked in confusion, looking at the bear with confusion.

"Oh, yeah. You haven't been informed," the bear said as the lights came on. "Look at the crowd." Blurr looked strangely at the bear before turning his head to the crowd and opened his mouth in silent horror.

Everyone was in the chairs, all dead. All of their bodies was cut opened, energon all around their bodies and their inner-machinery spilled out onto the floors, covering their feet. Their mouth was twisted in a mangled expression of pain and terror.

"That's what the trial is for. You two are only ones left alive and must decide between yourselves which of you is the killer," the bear told him. Blurr could barely listened hear him, looking at all the dead bodies.

"Uh, not to infringe on the rules, but can't we go ahead and vote? Two people arguing with each other isn't going to get much debate," Swindle requested.

"Sure thing, buddy! Get your electroID's out and vote." Blurr paid attention to what he said and quickly figured out that the only person left alive who could've done this. He reached for his electroID and pulled it out and headed for it.

_THUNK!_

"Gah," Blurr grunted said as Swindle brought the knife to his chest and stabbed him with it, right in the chest. Blurr stumbled back and felled to the floor, his electroID leaving his hand. Blurr grabbed at the knife where it was, feeling it. He barely noticed Swindle walking right by him and picking his electroID off the ground and pushing some buttons.

"And the votes have been tallied! Let's see if your right!" Monobear told them as the slot machine appeared once again out of nowhere and started spinning and spinning until it landed on three pictures of Blurr's face. However, unlike the previous times, no confetti spewed out of it and no coins either. "Looks like you two voted wrong! The killer is not Blurr, but Swindle. I thought you would at least get a tie," Monobear said with happiness. Swindle stood over Blurr, a smug smile on his face.

"You were so determined to mark me as the killer. Well, are you happy now? Everyone's dead," he asked as he brought his foot up and slammed it down on the knife, making it sink in deeper. Energon spewed out of his mouth, causing him even more pain.

"Well, congratulations Swindle, my star-studded student. You get to go free! Now, would you like to see Blurr's execution?" he asked him. Swindle's smile became even more smug as he glared down to his weaken form.

"Gladly," he said.

"Well then, let's give a cheer for his execution," he said, as the red button came out of the ground. Blurr kept looking at everything in confusion, wondering how the hell something like this could've happened. This shouldn't be possible.

"No, no, NO!" Blurr yelled out, looking at Monobear as he brought the gavel out and brought it down on the red button.

The chains came out and grabbed him.

* * *

"NO!" Blurr shouted as he woke up with a start and sit up, hyperventilating.

**Day 9**

Before he did anything else, he looked down at his chest and looked for any knife that was still stuck in him or anything. Having found nothing, Blurr took a deep, relaxing breath and looked at the time. It said 3:00 in the A.M., which was too early for him, but he didn't want to dream that nightmare again. "I need to drink less," he muttered as he stepped out of his bed and headed for the door. He walked over there before stopping mid-step at the closed bathroom door. Remembering what happened last time, he opened the door and glared inside.

No one was inside.

He stared at the empty room for a second before breathing a sigh of relieve and opened the room and exiting, leaving the bathroom door open. He closed his dorm room door and headed out for the library. He remembered that there probably was a new building that was opened from the trial and decided to investigate it. He entered the interconnecting hall with the library and the dorms and entered the library. The blue room did nothing to comfort him as he entered it and looked for the next door on the other side. He found it and quickly transverse the catwalks over to it, noticing on the walk there that all sixteen tables were on the first floor, looking as if they weren't broken. He ignored that and kept going, reaching the other side of the room and opening the door. The place was exactly like the previous inter-connecting hallway, he noticed, as he walked through the slightly curved hallway and reached the door. Blurr examined the door with trepidation, wondering what the next place was, before opening it and entering the new area.

The first thing he noticed was how bright the place was, which didn't make sense, considering that it was still nighttime and only the back-up lights were supposed on. From what he could tell, the new place was fashion like a shopping mall. Five stories of nothing but stores and other such stuff. Probably a place where students go to relax in the middle of classes and near the end of the day when they needed a place to hang out besides their dorm room. It was certainly better than the library to Blurr. Like the library, there was a catwalk with a spiral staircase that connected the upper floors together. The spiral staircase was surrounded by a well-kept cyber-garden that covered everything, making it much prettier than the other one. Around the first floor were tables for students and teachers to rest and talk to each other. The lights and holograms from the stores were a variety of colors, making for an eye-catching spectacle.

Blurr had to admit, the place looked pretty good.

"Not too bad, isn't it." Blurr flinched and looked to see a figure standing by the railing with his arms crossed on top of it, admiring the room.

"Uh, yeah," Blurr replied, focusing on the figure. He figured out by the height and blue paint-job that it was the mysterious Counterpunch. What was he doing up so late? "Why are you up?" he asked, getting closer to him.

"Couldn't sleep. Wanted to investigate the new building," he replied simply, looking out into the building. "The lights are quite inviting, aren't they? Warm and full of life. It betrays our current position," he waxed poetically.

"Huh, I didn't take you for someone who use fancy words," Blurr mentioned, walking up next to him to get a better view of the place.

"I read some stuff, including the things by our resident poet," he told him, admiring the place. "Good stuff."

"Hmm, yeah, I'm not much of a reader, although colorful tings are definitely things I can admire," he told him.

"The stores operate on a 24 hour basis," Counterpunch told him.

"Operate?" Blurr asked him.

"Each store has a fully functioning robot with a VI ready to help you," Counterpunch told him. "You need the resident currency to pay for them."

"Currency?"

"Have you noticed any coins around the place that you picked up?" Counterpunch asked, turning to look for the first time.

"Not that I can say," Blurr told him, a bit embarrassed.

"Hmph, that's a bit surprising. You can find them all over the place," he said, fishing for something out of subspace and bringing it out to show him in-between two fingers. Blurr stared at the object in his fingers. It was a bronze-color coin with the face of Monobear emblazon on it. Engraved right below his visage was the words 'Monobear medals.' "These are Monobear medals, although he recommended shortening them to monocoins for convenience sake."

"He recommended it to you?" Blurr asked.

"Oh, yes. He surprised me in my room when I found one in there. He told me all about them and their uses. Before, we could only use them in the gift store in the first building's first floor. Now, we have a whole section to use them in. Here," he said, suddenly flipping a coin towards him. Blurr quickly grabbed at and inspected it. "On the house," Counterpunch told him. "I got plenty."

"Uh, thanks," Blurr said, putting the coin in subspace.

"You're welcome. If you're looking for more, just search the area. You'll find plenty in odd places," Counterpunch told him.

"Ah, thanks," Blurr said, looking around the place. "What kind of stores they got here?"

"Just about every single one. Repair store, general store, food store, video store, music store. You name it, they got. Even got a weapon's store, but no guns in it, thankfully," Counterpunch told him.

"Wow, got every store imaginable," Blurr said.

"There are a couple of exceptions. On the first floor, there's a storage area. It's separated by faction and on you have to use a key-card to enter it. The third floor has a groundbridge in one of the rooms. On the fourth floor, you'll find an actual restaurant with a bar with waiters, bartenders, and the whole shebang. Could be fun," he told him.

"Hey, thanks for that information. Now I know where I'm going first," Blurr said with anticipation.

"Bring some friends," Counterpunch recommended. "Anyway, to go along with that, if you're tired, but don't want to walk all the way to the first building or use te groundbridge, there's a designated sleeping area on each floor for you to rest. Each one can be locked so you don't have to be wary of nighttime intruders."

"Now that's really handy," Blurr said happily. "This place isn't too bad."

"Yes, once you get past the fact that each day, someone could end your life I order to escape the place and leave everyone else to die," Counterpunch said, deflating Blurr's mood.

"Geez, thanks for that," Blurr grumbled, sulking. "So, how long until Monobitch gives us the next motive?"

"Monobitch?"

"Bitch is a term I learned on Earth. They have lovely ways of cursing someone out," Blurr educated him. "Lots of variations too, just in case they get old for you."

"Right, well, I'd say one, maybe two days, until Monobear drops his motive. I almost sure whne does, someone will be murdered within three days' time," Counterpunch told him.

"Like clockwork," Blurr said.

"Like clockwork," Counterpunch echoed.

"Said, with how long we've been here, I've never learned your talent. Care to tell me what it us?" Blurr asked him. Counterpunch glared at him, before looking away to the lights.

"No," he replied.

"No? Why?" Blurr asked.

"Because, I'm sure they picked the wrong person when deciding who the best of that talent was. I never done anything like it. Still, the letter also promised me some answers and I'm in desperate need to find some, so I decided to come here. Pretty foolish decision on my part," Counterpunch grumbled.

"So, you're saying you were brought here… by mistake?" Blurr asked.

"No, I wasn't. The letter they sent specifically requested me and was addressed with my needs in mind. They knew who they were sending that note too, even if the talent didn't match. No, they wanted me here for a reason," Counterpunch told him.

"They specifically wanted you?" Blurr asked.

"Yes, although for what reason, I don't know. Unlike most people here, my contribution to the Reconstruction project is nil, so it breaks the order of things."

"But then why are you here?" Blurr asked him.

"I don't know. Maybe I saw something I shouldn't have or something. It doesn't matter. All I know is that I'm marked for death along with you and the 24 others that are still alive," he answered gravely.

"I wonder why," Blurr wondered to himself. "Day 9 and Optimus still hasn't rescue us. I wonder what's keeping him so busy that he can't spare some time to save us from this wretched place."

"I believe we are the only ones who can save ourselves," Counterpunch told him. "We have to stay strong and work together to defeat the common enemy, or else all but one person will be killed," he encouraged him.

"I still can't believe Brawl was the murderer of the last trial," Blurr said, thinking to himself. "Him and Vortex were gestalt mates. The two of them killing each other should have been a non-existent problem, but it still happened," Blurr murmured, the bright lights doing nothing to offset his terrible mood.

"Just goes to show you, anyone could kill each other," Counterpunch told him.

"We haven't," Blurr reminded him.

"For now," Counterpunch said, getting himself off the railing, "and I imagine we won't be until the motive starts. Once it begins, well… you best stay away from me," Counterpunch warned him, heading off to one of the stores.

"Hey, you not planning a murder are you?" Blurr asked him, following him.

"Not at this moment," Counterpunch told him.

"Oh come on! Do you really think you would get away with it?" Blurr asked. "Especially with Nightbeat here?"

"That's why if I do plan a murder, it will be a knife through his spark," Counterpunch countered. "But, as of right now, I don't see any reason to kill anyone when questions still linger for me," Counterpunch explained.

"Questions?" Blurr asked.

"Yes, questions. There are some things about me that I don't fully know and the letter promised to explain it to me. That's why I won't have any intentions of murdering anybody until I find those answers," Counterpunch told him as he entered a medical store, Blurr following after him.

"Shouldn't you know everything about yourself?" Blurr asked

"Yes, you should, and I thought I did. But I keep having blackouts," Counterpunch told him.

"Blackouts?"

"Yes. In the middle of the day, my vision goes and I see again later, unknown of my actions," he told him as he grabbed a bottle and headed to the counter. "This is a neuro-booster. It increases brain functioning to keep me from losing focus and getting black-outs," he told him as he reached the countered and showed it off to the monobot waiting there. The VI robot took his item and scanned it quickly.

"That will be 10 monocoins," the VI said. Counterpunch withdrew ten monocoins from subspace and gave it to the robot. "Thanks and have a despairing day," the robot thank as the two of them headed out of the store and just started walking around.

"You know, we've been talking a lot about me, so how about you talk about yourself. A racer, correct?" Counterpunch asked him.

"Yep. Champion of the Ibex circuit for seventeen straight years when the war hit," Blurr told him.

"I'm guessing you have a competitive streak."

"Oh, you know I do," Blurr agreed with a chuckle. "I was prepping for my eighteen straight win when the war got into high-gear and the Decepticons really got their conquering mojo going. Ibex was bombed within a week that an official declaration of war was made, the races were cancel, and I was caught right in the middle of the two sides," Blurr told him.

"So you weren't originally an Autobot, but a neutral?" he asked him.

"Yeah. Had to decide which side I belonged too, but ultimately I joined the Autobots after some words from Optimus and the death of a coworker mine, Piston," Blurr told him.

"Ah, the death of a close friend can be enough of a motive to joined a side," Counterpunch murmured.

"Yeah, but the thing with Piston, I'd never really cared about him until after he was dead," Blurr told him.

"Really?"

"Yes, well, as the number-one racer, I was used to hanging out with the elite, you know. The rich, the famous, other high-profile racers, whatever. I didn't have the time, nor the need, to hang out with people like Piston. He was a member of the pit-crew and nothing more. It wasn't until I saw his corpse that I realized that I cared about him, but it was far too late to make up for it," Blurr told him. "Guy looked up to me like a hero and I ignored him."

"Hmm, sounds like many people I know. Looks up to someone and gets a job working for them only for them to not give a damn about them. Although, you actually seem genuinely remorseful about his death," Counterpunch said.

"Yeah, well, the guy was a member of my pit crew for years only to have me ignored him at every turned. I couldn't even remember his _name_ half the time."

"How shallow of you," Counterpunch snarked.

"Yeah, I got no problem admitting that," Blurr chuckled. "Still, I'm here alive and well, even if I'm a bit of a jerk to some people here."

"I've seen that, particularly during the last trial," Counterpunch noticed.

"True, I was acting like one," he agreed nervously. Counterpunch did not let it slide.

"Am I sensing some regret from you?" Counterpunch asked.

"Huh? Oh, well, it's nothing. It's just that the nightmare I had that caused me to woke up," Blurr told him.

"Nightmare?" Counterpunch asked him.

"Uh," Blurr stammered, "it's nothing."

"Judging by the way you're acting, I don't think so," Counterpunch told him. "Best just to tell me."

"Uh… alright," Blurr agreed and told him about the nightmare he had of Swindle murdering everybody and leaving him to be executed.

"Huh, a bit of an odd one," Counterpunch said once he finished, "but that would never happened as it would go against the rules."

"The rules?"

"Rule 7.2. It said that a killer can murder no more than two people, so the scenario you were imagining in your head could never happen," Counterpunch reminded him.

"So, we can only find, at the most, two murder victims, correct?"

"I never said that. I just said that a murderer can murder no more than two. In the case there are multiple murderers, more than two murders can happened," Counterpunch told him.

"Please, don't jinx us like that," Blurr chuckled. "The last thing we need is that."

"Yes, well, just being prepare. I'm sure a couple of others are thinking that a double murderer may happen," Counterpunch told him.

"Hmph, if you say so, although I really doubt that will happen."

"We'll see," Counterpunch said as he looked around. "We should probably head back to our rooms. Just because we won't murder each other doesn't mean somebody else will come along and try to."

"Ah, that's a good point," Blurr agreed as the two of them head for the exit and out of the room. "I really hope a murder doesn't happen anytime soon."

"We'll see," Counterpunch murmured ominously. "And don't forget to search for some monocoins. They could buy some useful stuff here," he told him.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Morning came with an announcement from Monobear and Blurr headed for the lunchroom. Predictably, Blurr was the first to reach it that day and took a seat with his cube of energon. Not long after, a few more early risers drifted in. Jazz, Ratchet, Bludgeon, Skywarp, and Drift all entered the lunchroom early that morning and converse with each other.

"So, what is on our agenda today?" Bludgeon asked the group.

"Well, the new area is open," Blurr told everybody.

"Ah, it is? What is our new area like?"

"A mall of some sort," Blurr told them as he began explaining the area's layout that he and Counterpunch discovered last night.

"Huh?" Jazz murmured as he finished. "I was wondering what those coins were for."

"Wait, I have to know. Is there a weapons store?" Drift asked with worry in his voice.

"Yes, but there is no guns in there," Blurr answered.

"That still makes it easier for people to kill each other," Drift told him. "Anybody could go in there and buy a sword or other stuff to help with a murder."

"What if it's like other stores and they track who buys what?" Skywarp asked the room.

"Nah, they wouldn't do that. Makes things too easy for us," Ratchet grumbled.

"Still, could be smart to check up on that," Drift said optimistically. "I wouldn't mind if we could go over there ourselves and check it ourselves, Ratchet."

"Get someone else. All those bright colors would overload my optics," Ratchet brushed him off.

"I can check with you if you like," Bludgeon offered. "We could find serviceable swords to replace our missing swords."

"Hey, didn't we say something about getting weapons being bad?" Skywarp asked.

"Yes, we did, but I think the worry is only there if you obtain it in secret. I'm getting a sword for self-defense, which I recommend everyone else does as well," he told the group. "If everyone carried weapons, that would disinterest people who want to commit a murder."

"Or it would just make them think out-of-the-box," Ratchet countered.

"Either way, I am not roaming the school without a weapon by my side," Bludgeon told them. "I trust no one."

"Whoa, hey, let's calm down," Skywarp told everyone. "That kind of thinking is going to cause another murder."

"Skywarp's right. Everyone, let's just chill and relax. We can't afford another murder to happen," Jazz told the group.

"Either way," Blurr said, "we got a new area with new possibilities. Heck, we may even find a way out that I didn't see on my first look through."

"A way out would be most fortunate," Bludgeon agreed. "To escape and come back with a colossal force to raze this place to the ground."

"I can get behind that," Skywarp agreed.

"As would I," Ratchet agreed.

"Same," Drift agreed.

"Fine with me," Jazz said.

"Alright," Blurr said. "Keep that attitude up and we might all make it out alive."

* * *

At 8, everyone had come in, including the remaining Combaticons. The 26 remaining teachers discussed with each other what to do today and the first to arrive told everyone else about the new building.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Bumblebee asked, standing up. "Let's search that place for a way out."

"Man, you are really daft," Monobear said as he entered the room, attracting irate looks from everyone there. "I mean, do you really think I left a means of escaping for you?"

"Hey, it couldn't hurt," Drift said. "I mean, you're not perfect. You had to leave a crack in your defense somewhere."

"AH! I'll believe that when you actually find one," Monobear mocked.

"I can't wait to get my hands on the entity controlling you, for I shall rip them limb from limb," Bludgeon threaten.

"To be honest, I'm surprise you haven't killed anyone yet. You really live for the thrill of the fight," Monobear said. "Are you afraid that doing anything too… rash will sent you on a one-way ticket to an execution?"

"Hey, quit egging him on!" Blurr told the bear.

"And you!" the bear turned on the speedster, glaring at him. "Monobitch?" he asked him.

"Oh, you heard that?" Blurr chuckled, looking away from him nervously.

"Yes, and I've got something special planned for you tomorrow," the bear told him.

"I'm assuming that's when you'll announce the motive," Mirage asked him.

"Correct, and it's a very special one. One of the fan favorites," Monobear told them.

"Fan... favorites?" Rewind asked, confused.

"Oh, I can't wait to see all of you mistrusting each other again. It shall be despairingly glorious!" Monobear yelled.

"What the frag is it?" Mixmaster yelled at him.

"Oh, you'll find out, but a little hint. Let's just say that the past loves to bite you back," Monobear told them before disappearing again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Beachcomber asked everybody.

"I believe we're heading for trouble," Hoist said to everyone.

"Ugh, I hate that guy," Drift muttered.

"Well then, let's ignore what he's saying for now," Onslaught told the group, standing up. "We got an area to explore and I say we get started right now."


	28. Chapter 3: Some Respite

 "Woah," Bumblebee yelled, looking at the place. "These are all _stores_?" he asked.

"Mostly," Counterpunch said. "There's a storage room on the first floor, a groundbridge room on the third, and a restaurant on the fourth."

"Well then, how should we explore the area?" Mirage asked. "This is a rather large area."

"Well, why don't we just explored what we want?" Beachcomber recommended. "I'm sure there's something for everyone here."

"Well, if that's the case, there's a directory," Blurr pointed out in front of them. "Best get a look at the stores around here."

* * *

Hoist entered the tool store on the second floor. From what he could tell, the place was a very well-stock place. Blowtorches, wrenches, wire cutters, etc…. Everything someone like him needed. He noticed that all of them were of very high quality coming from the most expensive brands available. The price of them were all affordable in monocoins value, but he had to go scavenge for more of them.

"Hmm, how interesting," came a familiar haughty voice behind him. Hoist turned around to gaze upon Mirage looking at some of the tools in the area.

"You have an interest in them?" Hoist asked.

"Yes, I do," Mirage told him, turning to look at him. "I know, someone like me being interested in something as menial as this, but I've always been interested in the mechanics of buildings and repairs."

"Hmm, you don't seem like the type," Hoist said as he turned back to his tools.

"Yeah, well, I like to tinker by myself. I've always been a bit of a loner so I needed some hobbies to entertain me and this works," Mirage told him, walking up beside him. "Tell me, you and Soundwave managed to make the groundbridge capable of transporting anywhere in the school Monobear allows us to enter. Do you think you can finished the process and get us out of here?" Mirage asked him.

"To be honest? I don't know. Groundbridges were more of Soundwave's things. I can adjust it however I like, but it requires knowing specific algorithms to break through whatever codes he has. Only someone like Soundwave could break through whatever keeps us here," Hoist told him.

"But alas, Soundwave decided to get himself killed instead of getting us a way out of here," Mirage bemoaned. "Couldn't keep his emotions in line."

"Look, we'll find another way out of here," Hoist told him. "Even the best fortress has a way in."

"Yes, but what do we do when we're trap in it and need a way out?"

* * *

"Oh, trinitrotoluene. I can do some wonderful stuff with this," Mixmaster muttered, picking it up and observing it.

"Trinitrotoluene? What in the holy frag grenade is that?" Smokescreen asked.

"It's TNT," Perceptor told him.

"You use it as an explosive by itself or add it to others," Beachcomber told him.

"Oh," Smokescreen muttered. "I've worked with explosives before, but never cared for what they were called." He decided to pair up with the local scientists and decided that by the way they were going over the stuff there, he probably should've went with another group. Too nerdy.

"Nitroglycerine, Acetone Peroxide, Nitrocellulose… yes, very good," Mixmaster gleefully chuckled.

"Uh…" Smokescreen moaned.

"More explosives," Beachcomber answered.

"Oh," Smokescreen muttered.

"It's a whole cabinet full of explosives. I want it so much," Mixmaster said.

"How much does it cost?" Perceptor asked the monochromatic robot.

"1,000 monocoins," it answered.

"For all of them?"

"Each."

"What?!" Mixmaster yelled, glaring at it.

"Those are the prices I have been uploaded with and I must say, your despair over the price is glorious!" the VI cashier told them.

"I swear, that bear mocks us at every corner," Mixmaster said with disgust as he put the explosives back on the counter.

"Hey, uh, are you sure you can't lower the price a little bit?" Smokescreen asked the VI, relaxing his arms on the counter.

"No, I can't, and it despairs me completely that I can't do that. _It feels so wonderful_ ," the cashier told him.

"Can't you do anything with your program to fix that?" Smokescreen asked.

"It despairs me to tell you that I can't," the cashier happily told him.

"Has anyone told you that you're weird," Smokescreen told him.

"Yes. Oh, it was so wonderful the way they despair," he told them. "And, I must say, you look like a fine bunch. Your despair will truly be wonderful."

"Wha…," Smokescreen muttered.

"Say all of that again," Perceptor ordered, closing in on the VI.

"Oh, well, every now and then, a new set of customers come in. They always look filled with dread. Usually, there's only twelve of you despairing about, so 26 is unprecedented. Honestly, the headmaster must be thinking more people is bigger neurosis mess," the cashier chuckled. "Oh, he is glorious."

"Can you tell us who he is?" Mixmaster asked.

"What, you haven't met him? Monobear is the headmaster of this fine coliseum he has prepare for you and he is despairingly awesome!" the cashier cheered.

"Alright, uh, what about his actual identity?" Smokescreen asked.

"Monobear _is_ Monobear. To think otherwise is just completely wrong," he told them.

"We won't be getting anything out of him," Perceptor told them. "His coding must prevent him from giving us a straight answer about him."

"Oh, you guys are so cute. The way you search for answers that you won't obtain," the VI chuckled. "It may be old, but always speeds my pulses whenever I see you again."

"You must grow attach to your customers," Perceptor said.

"Oh, you know I do. I love calculating the odds of survival for anyone. It just brings out the despair in me when they die a horrible, gruesome death," the cashier told them.

"Guys, I'm getting out of here." Beachcomber told them. "This guy is freaking me out. If you need me, I'll be elsewhere," he said as he made his way out to somewhere else.

"I agree," Mixmaster agree. "I doubt we will be able to obtain anymore information from him, so we should go."

"Yeah, let's go," Smokescreen agreed, heading out of the room.

"Oh, one more thing," the cashier said, getting their attention again. "No matter what, every group ends with one person left standing. One person who visits my other selves. They gather the supplies from the stores here and prepare for their lives as they join them, singing the praise of Monobear as they exit." The VI begins to choke as they speak. "It makes your optics leak with sweet despair."

"Okay, odd…" Smokescreen muttered before realizing something weird. "Wait a minute, join 'them.' What exactly do they join?"

"Who do they join? HAHAHAHAHAHAH!" the VI laughs manically. "Oh, even you should know that," the VI chuckled.

"Who?" Smokescreen asked. The VI calmed himself down before answering in a pleasurable tone.

"They join the despair."

* * *

"500 monocoins!" Bludgeon yelled out to the cashier in front of him.

"Yes, exactly!" the VI answered. "Oh, your despair at that was wonderful."

"You…." Bludgeon growled out. "This is unacceptable!"

"Woah, hey, calm down Bludgeon," Drift said as he got in-between the two, trying to comfort him. "Tell me, how many of these monocoins have you got?" Drift asked.

"I only have 45," Bludgeon grumbled.

"And I have 39," Drift mumbled.

"Well, normally, I'm not supposed to help, but if it will help you murder someone, maybe. Tell me, have you checked your storage units?" the clerk asked them.

"The storage units?" Drift asked.

"Yes. Every storage units has a safe in it where you collect monocoins after every trial," it told them.

"He gives us his coins in exchange for surviving a trial?" Bludgeon asked him.

"Correct. It would be best if you would check those out and then come back to buy a sword," it recommended to them.

"Hmm, very well. I'll shall return with the money and then you give me the sword or face death!" Bludgeon threaten the clerk.

"A flair for the dramatic, do we," the clerk cheekily said. "My, I can tell why the headmaster chose you."

Bludgeon glared at the offending clerk before walking off, Drift following along.

* * *

"Ooo, what is this," Scavenger asked as he looked over a display case. They looked like small orbs of a variety of color.

"These are oil-balls," the clerk replied happily. "Oil frozen until it is solid and then dipped in various liquid vats to give it the color. It the most sweet thing to have on a despair inducing day."

"Yum…," Scavenger mumbled, drooling over the little sweets. "How much?" he asked.

"A monocoin each," the clerk replied.

"I'll take ten," Scavenger said as he fished ten monocoins out from subspace and handed it to the clerk. It accepted the money and bagged ten of the delicious balls of oil and gave it to him. Scavenger accepted it and walked out of the candy shop to the first floor, with a "Have a despairing day" as he left from the clerk. Scavenger walked until he reached the closest table and took a seat and looked into the bag to see the oil balls still there. Scavenger took a pretty yellow one out and popped it in his mouth, crushing it under the weight of his dentas. It was oil alright, as the thick, creamy taste of it entered his mouth. The oil flared his sensors and increase his energy. Oil knew how to keep a body going.

"The storage units should be over here," a voice said followed by the clanging of footsteps. Scavenger turned his head over to see Drift and Bludgeon descending the stairs and over in his direction.

"Hey, What up?" Scavenger asked nervously.

"Hitting up the storage units," Drift told him as he spot the bag Scavenger was holding. "What's that you got there?" he asked.

"Oil-balls," Scavenger told them as he went and popped another one in his mouth, this one a blue color. "Where are you guys going?" Scavenger asked.

"Storage area. We heard from the clerk that Monobear puts monocoins in the storage rooms after every trial," Drift told the Constructicon.

"Oh, can I come along?" Scavenger asked, standing up.

"Sure, I guess," Drift smiled and looked at frowning Bludgeon. "That alright with you?" he asked him.

"Hmpf, the weakling can come if he wants," Bludgeon apathetically brushed aside, heading over to the storage areas.

"That's a yes," Drift told him.

"Alright," Scavenger said as he followed them along to a door marked storage. The door opened automatically and the trio entered to see a plain room with two different doors, each marked with a logo. Autobot on the left, Decepticon on the right. Next to each door was a scanner and in-between the doors was a large, automated turret.

"Okay, so we just get our ID cards out and wave them in front of the scanner to get in out zones, correct?" he asked the group.

"I think so," Scavenger agreed. "I wondered what happens if you used the wrong one."

"More than likely, the turret up there will end your life," Bludgeon told him.

"Okay, so we'll split up and take our sides," Drift told the group as he swipe his card over the device for the Autobots.

"Anyone else?" the automated voice said that Drift now realized sounded suspiciously close to the clerk.

"Uh… no?" Drift said unsurely if that was what he was supposed to do.

"Welcome Drift." The door opened and he entered his area, leaving the other two behind.

"So, I guess we should do the same," Scavenger said as he showed is card to the scanner.

"Anyone else?" Bludgeon showed his to the scanner. "Anyone else?"

"No," Bludgeon rumbled.

"Welcome Scavenger and Bludgeon," the scanner greeted as the door opened for them. They were greeted to a good size hallway with eight shudders on each side and bathe in a purple light. Inscribed on each shudder was a name of a Decepticon in the school and next to each shudder was a scanner. However, four of them were taped off with a red X. Bludgeon's was up front while Scavenger's was near the back.

"This place doesn't look too bad," Scavenger said as he headed over to the back. Bludgeon ignored him and showed his ID to the scanner. The scanner's red light turned green and the shudder opened up to reveal a empty room with a safe embedded in the wall.. Bludgeon went over and opened the safe, showing two small boxes. He opened each of them to find them full of monocoins, although how much, he couldn't tell. He grabbed them, closed the safe and walked out to the hallway, the shudder closing on the way out. He looked to see Scavenger returning from his as well, carrying the boxes and his bag in his hand.

"Wow! I wonder how many of those oil balls I can buy," Scavenger cheered in excitement as he reached his position.

"Enough to feed everyone, more than likely," Bludgeon muttered as he opened the door out for them. The two exited the room to see Drift was already out and waiting for them with the boxes of Monocoins in hand.

"Hey, I see you got boxes as well," Drift remarked.

"Yes, although I don't know if this will be enough to buy us swords," Bludgeon remarked.

"You guys are buying swords?" Scavenger asked nervously, taking a step back.

"Relax. We're just using them for self-defense," Drift told him.

"Uh, okay," Scavenger said, although he didn't get any closer to them.

"We should head back up to the store and see if this is enough," Bludgeon told Drift heading out of the storage room.

"Alright," Drift said as he followed along. Before he left, he said one last thing to Scavenger. "You should come too and buy yourself a knife of some sort," Drift recommended.

"Uh, that's okay, I'll be fine," Scavenger brushed him off, waiting for him to go.

"If you say so," Drift agreed, heading off.

* * *

"Well, they have quite of bit of upgrades here," Ratchet noted as he investigated an upgrades shop. "Could be very useful."

"For what?" Knock Out beside him. "For taking or saving a life?"

"Saving, of course," Ratchet chastised him without hesitation. "I never take a life under my care."

"Ah, yes, oh magnanimous medic of the Autobot. Always doing his best to make sure people survive his surgeries."

"And when the person under your care hasn't ticked you off, you do a good job yourself," Ratchet noted.

"You realize I was mocking you, right?" Knock Out asked.

"Yes, although, do you really think it's a good idea to mock someone who would be willing to murder you to get out of this place?" Ratchet questioned him, turning over to look at him. Knock Out glared at the medic before turning his head away.

"Well, I know you wouldn't murder anybody here. I can't imagine you walking up to Prime and telling him that you killed everybody here to get out," Knock Out said, looking at the inventory. "After all, you, Prime's self-described 'old friend,' letting everyone here get executed for a murder you committed is very hard to imagine. I can't imagine the face Prime would have if you actually did that."

"And I'm positive Prime would hunt you down and ripped you apart if you did the same," Ratchet remarked with an odd grin. "Now I can imagine his face when doing that."

"Fair point," Knock Out agreed. "So, truce? No killing for fear of the great Prime's reaction?"

"Truce."

* * *

"Oh, this place is nice," Blurr remarked as he was served a glass of engex from the bartender. "It almost makes me forget that we're trapped in a school full of maybe murderers by a psychotic bear."

"Did you ever imagine yourself saying that sentence," Hound questioned, drinking some engex as well.

"Not in a lifetime," Blurr chuckled, downing some of the engex.

"How many are we allow to have?" Hound asked the monochromatic bartender.

"All drinks are on the house, courtesy of Monobear," the bartender replied happily.

"Really?" Blurr asked.

"Yes. After all, the more you drink, the more likely someone will take advantage of it and kill you," they replied.

"Of course there was a catch," Blurr muttered.

"Hey, relax. After all the drama of the last trial, I doubt anyone will be willing to kill again," Hound told him. "I mean, Soundwave got ripped in half and Brawl got crushed. Do you think anybody would be willing to risk that?"

"It all depends on the motives," Blurr told him. "I'm sure Soundwave wouldn't kill if it wasn't for the motive and Vortex wouldn't have got himself killed if it wasn't for the device Monobear placed in our rooms."

"Okay, that's a fair point. But, seriously, what else can we do that would get people willing to kill each other," Hound asked him.

"Well, according to Monobit- excuse me, Monobear, it had something to do with our past. What could that have to do with us?" Blurr asked.

"What if it has something to do with our past action? Let's be honest, have we all been 100% good?" Hound him. "I mean, I guess I've done a couple of questionable things, but nothing too bad."

"Hmpf, I act a bit harsh, but I'm sure I don't have a secret worth killing over," Blurr told them.

"Exactly, so what do we have to worry about?" Hound told him.

"I bet you a thousand shanixes that some Decepticons have got a secret worth killing for," Blurr told them.

"I don't know about that. I mean, we researched their war crimes very well. To be honest, I think they would have the least dangerous secrets among us," Hound told them.

"What makes you say that?" Blurr asked.

"Well, we're the good guys, right? I mean, if word gets out that some of us have done some… questionable things, how do you think public perception of the Autobots would be?" he asked

"Hound, we're the only ones here. I doubt we can't revealed our secrets to each other," he told him.

"Much easier to say that than to actually do that," Hound noted, drinking some more engex.

"Okay, fair point," Blurr grumbled. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Counterpunch asked Nightbeat, who was inspecting a door.

""Wondering why this won't open," Nightbeat told him.

"It's probably a maintenance door. Probably some hallways in there," he told him.

"More than likely, but a way out could be gain from it," he told him.

"Do you really think that?"

Nightbeat released a small groan before answering: "Not really. I doubt it would be that easy."

"Which begs the question of why you're struggling," Counterpunch asked him.

"Because, it never hurts to look," Nightbeat told him. "I imagine if we want to escape, we will have to be _very_ inventive."

"More than likely. Judging by the way he planned everything, we have to think a bit more outside-the-box to escape," Counterpunch agreed.

"We'll have to be careful," Nightbeat told him. "Monobear is watching everything we do, including this very conversation," he warned, glaring at a nearby camera.

"Those are very annoying," Counterpunch remarked.

"Well, have you found any information about yourself?" Nightbeat asked, changing the topic.

"No, but I plan on using the archives today to look for any files here," Counterpunch told him.

"That's a good idea. You're bound to find something in there," Nightbeat agreed.

"You're good at reading people, correct?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What does my look say about me?" he asked. Nightbeat glanced at him before replying.

"Well, you're attitude is cynical, although not to the degree of Dead End. Your prior conversations indicate you are fiercely loyal to the Decepticon cause and to Megatron while your accent indicates you are from… Iacon?"

"I am from Kaon," Counterpunch corrected.

"Strange. Anyway, your dents in the knuckles indicate that you like to fight while the track marks on your arm and the way your optics are brighter than usual indicates that you inject yourself with neuro-boosters. I'm guessing blackouts?" he asked him.

"Correct," Counterpunch said, surprised.

"Right, well, judging by your visible scars and buffer marks, you've been shot seven times, stab five times, and at one point, lost an arm."

"That is… also true," Counterpunch approved. "I'm impressed."

"It's nothing," Nightbeat muttered as he thought things through. "I swear, your accent is from Iacon," Nightbeat said to himself.

"You're wrong, although only in that regard. Get over it," Counterpunch told him.

"I guess I have no choice."

* * *

"A datapad on mnemosurgery," Chromedome muttered to himself. "I guess this is suitable," Chromedome said to himself.

"I recommend getting the some on poetry," came the melancholic voice of Dead End behind him.

"Never interested me much," he told him, heading over to the cashier. Dead End followed along, his datapad on poetry on hand. The arrived to find Rewind and Wildrider waiting for them and talking to each other.

"Waiting for Deady to get some poetry is boring," Wildrider complained.

"Same," Rewind complained. "Videos are better."

"Wow. It's like we're on the same wavelength," Wildrider cheered.

"I wouldn't go that far," Rewind shrugged him off as he turned to look at them. "Are we ready to go?" Rewind asked them.

"Just got to check out," Chromedome told him.

"Alright," Rewind said, looking back at Wildrider. "Hey, Wildrider?" Rewind asked in a whisper.

"Yeah?" Wildrider asked in a equal tone.

"Thanks for helping out the other day between me and Chromedome," Rewind told him.

"Hey, no problem," Wildrider told him.

Unknown to those two, the other two could hear them.

"It was nice of him to help," Chromedome told him.

"That's the magic of Wildrider. One day, he might save the life of someone. The next day, he'll brutally dismember them," Dead End told him.

"You're joking… right?" Chromedome asked.

"He's labeled the Ultimate Manic for a reason," Dead End told him.

"…I'll limit their interaction."

"Good idea," he agreed as the two checked out and headed back to the duo.

* * *

"Where's some antidepressants?" Onslaught questioned the clerk in the medicine store.

"They should be in the third aisle," the clerk happily told him. "Is someone feeling like suicide?" Onslaught ignored him and went to the aisle to retrieve it, running into someone else.

"Oh, hey dude," Beachcomber greeted as he looked through the aisle.

"Oh, hello Beachcomber," Onslaught greeted as he looked through the aisle.

"What are you looking for?" Beachcomber asked.

"Antidepressants for Swindle," he answered.

"Oh," Beachcomber muttered shyly. That was a sore wound he didn't want to tread on.

"What are you here for?" he asked him.

"Same," Beachcomber answered.

"You need antidepressants?" Onslaught asked.

"Yeah…" Beachcomber answered nervously.

"What for?" Onslaught asked.

"PTSD," he answered.

"What? How did you get that?" Onslaught asked, turning to look at him.

"I would say asked Shockwave, but he's dead, thank Primus," Beachcomber told him.

"Oh," Onslaught murmured. Shockwave was pretty… brutal.

"I swear, when we won and all he got was a slap on the wrist and got a high-position with the reconstruction effort, I was _pissed_ ," Beachcomber told him. "He ruined my life."

"Ruined?" Onslaught.

"Every five days, I'm supposed to go to a psychiatrist to make sure I'm okay and if I need a refill on drugs," Beachcomber told him. "I was on suicide watch for a long time after that. You know how long's it's been since I've been off the list?" he asked him. Onslaught glanced at the small bot, not sure of what to say.

"Uh, how long?" he asked.

"It's been _five years_ ," he told him. "I was just starting to get my life back on track and then this happens," he ranted. "Am I Primus's punching bag. Did I do anything to offend him?"

"I have no idea," Onslaught murmured.

"Of course you don't," Beachcomber said as he stopped in front of some medicine. "Found it," he told him as he grabbed several phials.

"Good," Onslaught murmured as he went over. "Do you need all of those?"

"Yes. Trust me, I do," Beachcomber told him as he walked past him and towards the counter. Onslaught glanced at him as he went before grabbing a phial and going over to the counter with Beachcomber.

"That will be seventy monocoins," the cashier told him.

"Alright, here," Beachcomber told him as he phished around in subspace and brought the coins out.

"Thank you and have a despairing day," the cashier said. Beachcomber nodded and started picking the phials up.

"Hey, Beachcomber," Onslaught tried to get his attention.

"What?" he asked.

"If you need help, come talk to me," Onslaught asked him. Beachcomber glanced at him before muttering:

"I'm fine. I don't help. Not anymore," Beachcomber told him before walking off.

* * *

"You don't have to watch over me," Swindle told Blast Off as he sat in a chair with his hands in his face.

"Actually, I do," Blast Off said, towering over him. "If I keep my optics off you, I run the risk of you getting overload and putting yourself in danger," he told him.

"Look, I get it, but can you lay off me?" he asked him.

"Swindle, do you want me to go over what happen last night to you again?" Blast Off threaten.

"Nah, I'm good," Swindle muttered.

"Hmphf," Blast Off let out a huff. "You are a moron."

"What was that?" Swindle asked, glaring at him.

"Why repeat what you heard?" he asked him.

"Okay, you arrogant little-"

"Oh, you want a repeat of Vortex and Brawl?" Blast Off asked.

"Hnn…" Swindle muttered as he took a seat and cupped his face in his hands. "Sorry," he said. "The stress is getting to me."

"It's getting to everyone," the sniper told him. "Some are just dealing with it better than others."

"Obviously, I'm probably one of the worst," Swindle told him.

"Yes, you are," Blast Off agreed, walking around the table. "Erratic, paranoid, attempting to murder Vortex. Yes, I'll say you are the very worst one here," Blast Off agreed.

"Is that supposed to help me?" the merchant asked, glaring at him.

"No," Blast Off told him.

"Oh," Swindle muttered. "You know, insults are probably not the best way to handle someone who's grieving," he told him.

"You forget, _I'm_ grieving as well," Blast Off reminded him. "I think that puts us on even ground."

"Oh, yeah," he murmured. "You don't look it."

"I internalized my grief very well, thank you," Blast Off informed him. "I don't know why you don't."

"I don't know," Swindle confessed. "I'm guess that I- well, I feel guilty."

"Which makes sense, since this is all _your_ fault," Blast Off told him.

"I know," Swindle told him. "Quit reminding me."

"Now why should I?" Blast Off asked him.

"Because I'm already feeling bad enough as it is and I don't need you to add to it," Swindle told him.

"Oh, is that all?" Blast Off asked him. "You feel bad. So I should forget that this is all your fault," Blast Off asked him.

"Do, it- quit doing that!" Swindle yelled at him.

"Hmpf." Blast Off glanced above Swindle. "Here comes Onslaught with the anti-depressant. Take it. You'll feel better," Blast Off ordered, his tone softening.

"Yeah, sure," Swindle agreed, laying back in his chair, lifeless.

"Swindle, listen to me," Blast Off told him, getting next to him, "my feelings for you may be ambivalent, but we're going to get out of here alive, you understand that?" Swindle silently gaze at Blast Off before giving a single shaking of his head. "Alright. Sorry for giving you the guilt trip," Blast Off told him.

"Nah, its fine," Swindle muttered, turning his head away. Blast Off glared at the merchant, a feeling of anger and worry feeling him before pushing it back down. Worrying about anyone besides yourself was a good way of getting yourself killed.

* * *

"You guys interested in music?" Jazz asked the three people in the room.

"I'm trying to figure out what music Laserbeak likes," Skywarp told the group. "We both need something we both enjoy."

"I don't know, maybe? Never really gave it much thought. I just wanted to join a group," Bumblebee told him.

"I just didn't want to be alone," Nautilator told the group.

"Got a problem making friends?" Jazz asked.

"You can say that," Nautilator told him. "Not even my own gestalt wants to be friends with me, although I'm pretty thankful for that. Bunch of psychopaths they are."

"Oh, you don't have to remind me. Had to fight you guys a couple of times," Jazz told him. "You ever fight them, Bee?" "Jazz asked him.

"I don't know, maybe? My memory banks are a bit cluttered," Bumblebee told him.

"I remember you guys, I think. Well, I remember the reports file against you from COs who all describe you as a waste of space in the army," Skywarp told him.

"Seriously? How many did I have?" Nautilator asked.

"Oh, I lost count at five," Skywarp told him.

"Five? Do you suck at math that bad," Bumblebee asked, amused.

"Hey, I didn't exactly have much of an education like you fraggers," Skywarp complained. "Only recently, TC has been teaching me about stuff."

"And they asked you to teach people? Someone who can barely count?" Bumblebee asked.

"Hey, I've been learning! I can now get to forty," Skywarp told him. "Besides, I'm a master of ambushes," Skywarp bragged.

"Yeah, that's befitting of a coward like you," Bumblebee told him.

"Coward?" Skywarp asked, insulted.

"Hey, chill out, everyone. No mood killing here, is this understood?" Jazz asked them. The prankster and the scout glared at each other before Bumblebee answered.

"Fine," Bumblebee muttered.

"Fine, even though he was the aggressor," Skywarp agreed. "TC taught me that word," he grinned.

"Oh, for the love of," Bumblebee muttered.

"Guys!" Jazz yelled at them.

"Why am I always a fourth wheel?" Nautilator complained to himself.

* * *

Afterwards, the 26 teachers met up at the tables on the first floor. Most were satisfy, although there were a couple disappointed, none more than Bludgeon, who cursed the high price of the sword, making him unable to buy one. The group were discussing what to do.

"I say we make another trip to the archives," Jazz told them.

"Ugh, that place," Scavenger complained. "Last time I was there, I was trapped for the whole day."

"Do you honestly think we'll find anything this time?" Knock Out asked him.

"Honestly, probably not. We've been through so far, so I recommend this so that we can search for whatever we want," he told them.

"So… free time?" Bumblebee asked. "We can just search whatever we want?"

"Correct," Jazz told them. "Search for whatever your sparks desire." Everyone gave small nods of agreement. "Okay then, let's head to lunch."


	29. Chapter 3: Cause for Concern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really sorry this took a while to get done, but a lot of things had been happening that had prevented me from working on this. I hope to be faster in the upcoming chapter and hope to get chapter 3 done before I start my freshman year in college, although it is extremely unlikely. Until then, enjoy the chapter.

 

**Day 9 (cont.)**

Lunch had went by well enough, although a bit quitter than previous ones. When it was over, the group was ready to head back to the library and search through the archives, save for a select few. Blast Off told everyone he and Swindle were sitting this one out, Beachcomber wanted to stay in his room, and Rewind and Chromedome said that they had to talk to make sure the relationship between them was okay. After that, the group of 21 headed for the archives for their next search for whatever they want.

"Alright, let's see if there's anything good on here," Jazz muttered as he began his search on the archives. "Trillions of sources should be able to offer something." So far, in the past days, he's search everything related to the academy that he could be bother to search through, which was way too much for any sane being. Nothing had come up from the search and he knew that he would have to try something else to find any useful information about the place.

"Problems?" Dead End asked next to him, already beginning his search for poetry.

"I don't know what to search for to find any information about this place," Jazz confessed to him. "I've looked up every possible avenue that could be used to find any information: construction, headmaster, resources, everything."

"You should probably look for a less direct approach to it," Dead End told him.

"Like what?" Jazz asked.

"Well, you can't get anything about the birth of it, but there is obvious signs that indicate that this place has been around for longer than we imagined, so it would probably be best to look for the place between now and the beginning," Dead End recommended.

"The place between us and now…" Jazz murmured. "The events, like that science fair."

"A good place to start," Dead End agreed, not looking at him.

Jazz typed in anything involving events that involved the school. It didn't take long before results came up, first and foremost being the grand opening of the school. He clicked on it and looked up the article. In it was a description of the grand opening. All of the teachers were there as well as the students and several prominent figures in current politics, including the three leaders of the three factions. In fact, the only one not there was the headmaster, which was commented as strange by the paper, but the person representing him commented that he was a introverted individual and said that the event should be concentrated on the teachers and students.

Humble, but suspicious.

There was a photo gallery involved with the event. Jazz clicked on it and searched through the photos. Most of it was just mingling between the students, teachers, and guests mingling with nothing important going on in the group. The most notable picture was at the end, where all thirty of the teachers were grouped together for a photo op together. All of them were standing together and most of them had a smile on their face. There was a few of exceptions, most notable Shockwave, Soundwave, Dead End and Bludgeon. The former two stared emotionless while the latter two was sulking depressingly and scowling at the camera with contempt, respectively.

Jazz thought he would remember something like this happening.

Aside from that there wasn't much more information. The news article declared it an important milestone in Autobot and Decepticon relations and would hopefully set a standard to everyone that they need to work together to bring Cybertron back to the golden age. While the relations between Autobots and Decepticons have strained with the NAILs barely acting as the diplomat between the two despite their hatred for both of them. With this event, it would be the first time the group would be working together in non-Reconstruction efforts and would be an excellent standard to people that they could inhabit the same space together with citizens. Jazz had to admit, it seemed like the event was a really big one. Relations between the three groups were improving, but this might be enough to get them to settle down for good.

Jazz really hoped everything was going good outside.

"Thirty minutes," Dead End muttered to him.

"Uh?" Jazz asked, confused.

"Thirty minutes until door closes," he repeated.

"Oh. Thanks," Dead End thanked as he went back to the rest of the sources. "So, what are you searching up?" Jazz asked as he went to the next page.

"Literature and poems," Dead End told him. "Right now, I'm looking into the works of Sky Byte."

"Sky Byte… he's that beat poet guy, right?" Jazz asked.

"Correct," Dead End confirmed. "We talk to each other quite a bit and collaborated a few times."

"Huh, sounds like you two get along," Jazz noticed as he clicked on an article about the school.

"Good enough," Dead End agreed, ignoring him to go back to looking at his poems.

Jazz looked at the next article. It was about the year-long anniversary of the school's opening. It went into detail about the important things of the year and how the school was holding up as an education place. So far, the school had only been involved at the science fair Bludgeon and Nautilator found earlier. Relations between the Autobot and Decepticon teachers were going fairly well, in context of what had preceded it. The students were meeting their standards, which meant that the education was going well. Overall, things were going better than expected.

So what went wrong?

"Time to go," Dead End announced to him.

"What?" Jazz asked.

"Door's about to close. Let's move," he told him, heading for the door.

"Already?" Jazz asked, surprised.

"Yes, so let's go."

"But I've barely even-"

"Now, before the door closes," he urged him, leaving him behind. Jazz gave a grunt of annoyance before getting up and following Dead End out of the archive and back to the library. A minute later, the door closed, leaving them and everybody else locked out of the room. "Well, that went by way too fast," Jazz muttered to himself.

* * *

"So, did you find anything?" Onslaught asked Jazz on the third floor lounge. The two sat next to each other on the bar as Blurr went between them and Swindle and Blast Off.

"Well, searching through the events, I figured out conclusively that we taught here for at least a year," Jazz told him, taking a swig from his cube of high-grade.

"Seriously? Then how come we haven't been able to remember any of it?" Onslaught asked him, taking a drink of high-grade as well.

"I don't know. I just know that there are documented records of us having taught here," he told him.

"Really?" Blurr asked as he slide in to the conversation. "So, you're telling me that the three of us actually went to this place to teach a bunch of snot-nosed brats?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes," Jazz answered him.

"Well then, I'm glad I don't remember it," he told them as he took a swill of some low-grade.

"You think Chromedome might be able to unlock those memories?" Onslaught asked the pair.

"Well, he is a mnemosurgeon," Jazz muttered to himself. "We could certainly see if he could do it."

"Well, that's going to have to wait a little bit," Blurr told them. "You saw what happened to them when their personalities got screwed up. They're too busy giving cheesy apologizes and declarations that they will love each other forever," Blurr snarked.

"Seriously?" Onslaught asked.

"I don't know. It's just what I read. Do you know that a lot of neutrals like to romanticize the war between us?"

"Woah, are you serious?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah, I'm not kidding. Do you want to know how many stories I've seen that involved you two screwing Prowl?"

"Too much information! Too much information!" Jazz screamed out, blocking his audial receptors.

"That is… disgusting," Onslaught murmured.

"Oh, trust me, it's nothing compare to the amount of secret trysts that Optimus and Megatron have together," Blurr told him.

"You can't be serious… right?" Onslaught glared at the racer for an answer. Blurr returned it with a blank stare. "Oh, Primus dammit!" Onslaught murmured to himself.

"Why do you even look these things up?" Jazz asked him.

"What, you think I look for this things on purpose? The problem is that there is so many of them that running into them is impossible to avoid," he told them. "The things I've done in those things… I'm sure at least half of them are impossible…" he drifted out, letting what he said in the air.

On the sidelines, Swindle and Blast Off watched in bewilderment at the scene going on not far from them. They didn't quite know what was going on, but decided it was best not to involve themselves in it and Blast Off suggested heading to his room, which Swindle readily agreed.

* * *

"Fight harder!" Bludgeon yelled to Drift as the two sparred on the staged in the auditorium.

"I'm trying, but I excel with swords, not fists," Drift replied as he blocked a fist head only to fall to the floor as Bludgeon kicked his leg out from under him. Before he could react, Bludgeon put his knee to the base of his back and grabbed ahold of his wrists and pulled them backed, causing pain to shoulder joints. "Ah! I'm positive this isn't metallikato move," Drift complained in pain as he struggled to get out.

"It isn't and I believe I am victorious," Bludgeon said as he left go and walked off away.

"Woo! Alright!" Nautilator cheered as Bludgeon came out as the victor, out of his seat.

"Alright, that was well done," Ratchet reluctantly admitted next to Nautilator in his seat.

"Hey!" Drift yelled out to Bludgeon, who turned to glared at him as he got up. "How about round two?" he asked.

"Why? In combat, you only have one chance to kill your enemy and survived. There would never be another chance," Bludgeon questioned the swordsman.

"Well, we're not in a warzone, are we? Besides, do you have anything better to do?" Drift asked him.

"No, I don't," Bludgeon agreed, "but my point still stands. If we were fighting, you would be dead."

"Yeah, well, I imagined there might be a different result if swords were involved," Drift told him. "Swords is what I excel at."

"But it doesn't matter in this instant."

"It doesn't, but don't you imagine in a battle if something turned out different? I mean, if we fight again, I'll know some of your tricks and could give you more of a challenged," Drift reminded him.

"Hmm, I am in need of keeping my abilities sharp," Bludgeon agreed, getting into a fighting stance. Drift silently gets in his fighting stance as well and the two engaged in sparring again.

"Huh, your guy is a bit aggressive," Nautilator said to Ratchet as the fight started again.

"Well, he used to be one of your guys," the medic told him.

"Wait, he was?" Nautilator asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You might've known him back then as Deadlock," Ratchet told him.

"That's Deadlock?" he whispered surprisingly.

"Yes, it is."

"Oh," Nautilator muttered. "He really loves fighting fist-to-fist now."

"I'm not privy to all the details, but he apparently gave up guns and only uses swords and hand-to-hand combat. Personally, it's really limiting in combat, but he gets by," Ratchet confessed to him. "What about you and Bludgeon?"

"Uh? Oh, well, I only met him when I arrived here with the rest of you, although I heard a lot of the stories about him in combat. You know, about how he mercilessly slaughter all who got in his way," Nautilator told him.

"And your opinion of him?" Ratchet asked.

"Well, he's blunt, but he seems respectful enough of other people," the (un)luckster answered honestly.

"Hmm, figured. Do you think he'll tried to kill anyone?" Ratchet asked him.

"Ah, well, his reputation says yes, but judging by his attitude, I wouldn't think so. He's not the type to murder in secret and would probably be found out as the culprit if he did ever murdered anyone," Nautilator told him.

"That's what I figured," Ratchet murmured.

"Personally, in all honestly, I think I would watch out for Counterpunch or that psychopath that's hanging around," Nautilator told him.

"Wildrider?" Ratchet asked.

"Who else?" Nautilator said. "That guy is full on nutso and wouldn't hesitate to kill any of us to get out."

"He does have a lack of self-preservation," the medic agreed. "He would kill someone just because he wants too." He glared at Nautilator. "Why are you so suspicious of Counterpunch?"

"He's just so unfriendly. I don't trust him," he answered simply.

"He definitely doesn't seem like the cuddly type," Ratchet agreed.

"Well, two trials in and both of them were successful, so I don't think anybody is going to try anything else, at least for a little while," Nautilator commented on. "I mean, everybody saw what happens when you fail to get away with it."

"Combine that with the fact that getting away from it would be condemning everyone here to death and very few would be morally capable of pulling it off," Ratchet said as Bludgeon took Drift down for the second time.

"Alright. I give," Drift murmured as he clenched his head.

"You were decent. I am interested in how you fight with your sword," Bludgeon complimented as he lifted Drift to his feet with his hand.

"Yeah, I feel the same," Drift agreed as he stabled himself. "You're a good fighter."

"As are you, but not as good as me," Bludgeon said as he descended from the stage and for the door.

"How modest of you," Drift muttered sarcastically as Bludgeon left the room. Drift leapt down from the stage and walked up to the two still in their seats. "What's going on?" Drift asked.

"We're talking about the probability of anymore murders," Ratchet answered.

"Well, contemplate all you like, but that means nothing until we see what the next motive," Drift told him as he took a seat next to him. "Monobear, for all his sadism, is creative and knows how to get people riled up. Who knows what kind of chaos the next motive could bring."

"Hmm, true, but what could it mean?" Ratchet asked.

"Well, it was about the past haunting us, right? So it will be about how biggest secret, right?" Nautilator asked them.

"That's what I'm thinking, although I wonder if he truly has everyone's secret," Drift told them. "Besides, I doubt whatever he has would really get me to murder. Most of you know about all my dirty little secrets, so I see no reason to keep it a secret from you guys," Drift explained to them.

"If he's talking about dirty little secrets, I can definitely think of one thing he could use against me," Ratchet told them, wringing his hands together.

"Oh come on. It can't be that bad. At least, not any worst then the things I've done," Drift told him.

"It still causes me to lose sleep every now and then," Ratchet muttered as he turned towards Nautilator. "What about you? I'm sure you have at least one terrible secret you're keeping from us."

"…Maybe," he whispered, rubbing the back of his head. "I really hope he doesn't know about that."

"Well, I guess we'll find out about that tomorrow," Drift answered as he got up. "Come on, let's go see if everybody else is doing okay."

* * *

"Thank you for helping me open the door," Nightbeat thanked Mixmaster as he used acid to eat through the locks of the door.

"No problem," Mixmaster said as he concentrated on the lock. "I don't hold any grudges and if this helps us find a way out, of course I'll help you. Just don't make any more drug remarks."

"Alright, fine, although you should get someone to help you with that."

"He's right you know," Scavenger agreed as he popped another oil ball in his mouth and brought another one out and offered it to Nightbeat. "Want one?"

"I guess so. Nothing wrong with it," Nightbeat shrugged as he took it and put it in his mouth. Scavenger got another one out and offered it to Counterpunch next to him.

"You want one too?" Scavenger asked him.

"Choke on it," he answered simply.

"Got it," Mixmaster said as he pushed the door open. Inside was a maintenance hall of some sort that went forward before splitting off left and right.

"Just as I thought," Nightbeat said as he swallow the oil ball. "A maintenance hall. More than likely, it circles around the whole area to provide access to the other stores here," Nightbeat said as he examined it.

"Think we can find anything useful in there?" Scavenger asked him.

"Honestly, probably not," Nightbeat answered. "Still, couldn't hurt to look through it."

"Well then, let's get started," Mixmaster said as he entered the hallway, the rest following behind him.

* * *

"So, Onslaught is going insane," Swindle said as he and Blast Off entered the latter's room together.

"He's just overloaded. The stress must be getting to him and I don't blame him," Blast Off defended, closing the door behind them.

"Yeah, well, I think all of us are at least going a bit insane," Swindle muttered as he took a seat in a chair. "Some may look like they are taking it okay, but I think we're all scared inside."

"I agree with you on that one," Blast Off agreed as he took a seat across from Swindle. "Paranoia is settling in. Two people have already murdered. Who else will?" Blast Off asked him.

"I really don't want to know, just as long as we don't die," Swindle told him. "You feel it, right?"

"Care to elaborate?" Blast Off asked, although he didn't have to ask to know what.

"That emptiness inside," Swindle told him. "The one that Vortex and Brawl used to fill."

Blast Off paused before he answered, "Yes."

"They're really dead," Swindle muttered, looking away from him. The two sat in an unnerving silence for a little while, wondering what to say.

"You were the last one to see Vortex alive, aside from Brawl, right?" Blast Off asked him.

Swindle flinched before he answered, "Yes."

"What was your final conversation about?" Blast Off asked him.

Swindle paused before he asked, "Do I have to tell you?"

"No, you don't, but I want to know," Blast Off answered.

Swindle thought it over before he asked, "Promise you won't get mad?"

"No, I won't. If I wanted to hurt you, I would've done it by now," he answered.

"How comforting," Swindle muttered as he leaned back in his chair and thought about the event. "Okay, here's how it went."

* * *

_Swindle entered the library like the note had asked him to do and headed for the stairs, knife in hand. Vortex had asked him to come to the fifth floor of the library and he decided to go up there against his better judgment. It seemed odd, but unlike everybody else, he trusted Vortex, along with their leader, Onslaught. Despite that, it seemed odd to ask him to come to the fifth floor library instead of his room or anything like that._

_Swindle traveled up the staircase quickly and looked around to see Vortex behind a banister, waving over to him, his form barely visible with the only part standing out were his red optics. He walked over the catwalk to Vortex who was smiling softly at him._

" _Someone's here early. How you're doing?" he asked softly._

" _Fine," Swindle muttered harshly. "Why did you call me up here?"_

" _Well, I don't want to talk to just you," Vortex told him._

" _Come again?" Swindle asked, surprised._

" _I invited Brawl and Blast Off up here to talk to them," Vortex told him._

" _What?! Why?!" Swindle badgered him, getting in his face._

" _You said that we couldn't trust them, that they are going crazy, but I'm going to prove you wrong. They'll come up here, we'll talk to them, and you'll see that we can trust them," Vortex told him._

" _I told you to keep me away from that fool's errand," Swindle told him, getting in close._

" _Swindle, this place feeds off your paranoia," Vortex told him, turning around and heading to behind the bookshelf. "Look, let me show you," Vortex beckoned. Swindle paused, wondering if he could continue to trust him, before taking a leap of faith and followed him. "Careful of the jagged corner," Vortex told him as he scanned the shelf. Swindle took note of it and dodged it, walking towards Vortex._

" _What do you want to show me?" Swindle asked him._

" _This," he said, pulling a datapad out of the shelf and giving it to him. Swindle glared at it before grabbing it with his free hand and glanced over._

" _A bunch of psychology experiments," Swindle muttered, "authored by Rung."_

" _He collected data from all of these experiments, both moral and amoral, and put them in this datapad with his own personal notes in them. Don't you see, Swindle?" Vortex asked him._

" _No, I don't. What am I missing?" Swindle asked him._

" _This thing that we're put in is just a psychology experiment at a lethal level," Vortex told him. "This place uses scare tactics like those motives to get us to not trust one another and to kill each other. Swindle, you're paranoia is exactly what he wants." Swindle glanced up at him before thinking it through. It made sense. This could all be a psychological study done by one sick fragger who is doing this for research. Maybe he should calm down…_

…

…

… _unless Vortex is doing it to get his guard down and kill him._

" _Swindle, are you okay? You look disturbed by something," Vortex murmured, looking at him weirdly._

' _Scrap,' Swindle thought to himself. 'He knows I'm catching on to him.'_

" _Hey, are you okay? You trust me, right?" Vortex asked._

" _I don't know," Swindle murmured. "Why do you want me to put my guard down."_

" _So that you don't attack them the minute they come of here," Vortex explained._

" _Why aren't they here? Are you lying to me?" Swindle questioned, backing away from here._

" _That's because you're here early," Vortex reminded him. "You're worrying over nothing."_

" _Stay away from me!" Swindle yelled, bring his knife up. Vortex stopped and pit his hands up._

" _Okay, Swindle, just put the knife down and let me help you," he tried to soothe him. "Nothing is gained from doing this. Let's just wait for Blast Off and Brawl to come-"_

" _No! I'm leaving and heading back to my room. You're just as untrustworthy as they are!" he told him, backing up._

" _No, Swindle, let me help you," Vortex commanded, striding over to him quickly and grabbing for the knife._

" _I knew it!" Swindle yelled out the two struggle a bit with the knife and collided with the bookshelves._

" _Swindle, calm down and let me help you!" Vortex yelled at him as he tried to get the knife out of his hand._

" _Shut and let me go!" Swindle yelled as he struggled with the knife and pushed forward, accidently letting his knife pushed forward._

_STAB!_

" _Aug!" Vortex yelled as the knife lodged in his side. "Swindle, just-"_

" _Shut up!" Swindle yelled as he swung the datapad in Vortex's face, causing him to stumbled backward._

_SHCK! THUD!_

_Vortex collapsed to the floor on his side, his head bleeding from a gash in it, unmoving and the jutted corner of the bookshelf sported plenty of energon from it. Swindle glanced at the form on the ground, a sense of relief in him, right before he realized something. Vortex wasn't moving. The wound in his head looked deep and the corner had a lot of energon on it. He didn't kill him, did he?_

_He wasn't acting crazy._

…

…

_Was he?_

* * *

Swindle kept silent as he stopped telling the story. Blast Off starred silently at Swindle as he listened to the story he told him. He wanted to know what happen and he knew Onslaught wanted to now, so he had to debrief him later, but it still was uncomfortable listening to Swindle's madness at the time. Still, there was one thing he wanted to know.

"Swindle, do you still have that datapad on the psychological experiments?" Blast Off asked. Swindle blinked before answering.

"Uh, yeah. I'd subspaced it after the encounter. Here," he told him and brought it out and gave it to him. Blast Off grabbed it and looked at it. It was a regular datapad, although there was a few scrapes on it, probably from where Swindle smacked Vortex with him. In it, he found psychological experiments carried out by many different species, mostly Cybertronians and humans. "Is there a specific reason why you want to see that?" Swindle asked him.

"I don't know, but I'd rather hold on to this for later reference. It could be useful to compare this to our current endeavor," Blast Off answered.

"If you said so," Swindle muttered.

* * *

At seven, the teachers regrouped in the lunchroom and talked about things. Nightbeat told people about the maintenance hallway in the mall area that had stairs in it to lead to the other floors and had doors to enter the back of the shops, except the storage area. Aside from that, no other important things had happened to the group and most of them mentioned that they would probably turned in early today.

* * *

"What up?" Blurr asked the two new arrivals as they entered the bar third floor lounge at 8:30.

"I just want some energon," Hoist answered and Blurr did as wanted, giving him a cube of energon.

"What about you, Smokescreen?" Blurr questioned.

"Do you have mid-grade," Smokescreen asked.

"Yeah, Mixmaster made some after spelunking the maintenance halls," Blurr answered, getting a cube out and setting it before him.

"Thanks," he replied, taking it and gulping it.

"So, what did you do today?" Blurr asked.

"Fixed a centrifuge for Perceptor today that broke," Hoist answered, taking sips of his energon. "Aside from that, nothing much."

"I investigated the mall a bit more and discovered that the bar allows for gambling so I did that," Smokescreen answered.

"Alright," Blurr said. "You two are very boring."

"Excuse me for not having a major character defect," Hoist remarked as he took another drink.

"Hey, I like to gamble. Don't blame me. It's the whole reason I was invited here in the first place," he answered.

"True, true, but you could make it interesting," Blurr told them. "I mean, I at least expect better from Smokescreen."

"We're trapped in a building with a limited amount of entertainment. Complaining about me doing something uninteresting is complaining about a construction worker only constructs buildings," Smokescreen shot backed, downing the rest of the mid-grade. "Okay, I feel good and buzzed. Now would probably be a good time to go recharge for tomorrow," Smokescreen said and he got up and left.

"Well, just me and you," Blurr said to Hoist and he finished off his energon. "Unless, of course, you want to leave me too," Blurr complained.

"I think I'll stay. I've got nothing else to do."

* * *

"Reading poems?" Mirage asked Dead End in the library.

""Yes, I am," Dead End replied, not even glancing up at him.

"Which one are you reading?" Mirage asked, taking a seat across from.

"You are well-read, correct?" Dead End asked.

"Yes, I am," Mirage agreed, not knowing what Dead End is getting at.

"Well then, I'll read you a verse and you tell me which poem it's from," Dead End questioned him.

"Oh, a challenged?" Mirage asked, intrigued. "Well then, read away." Dead End glared at the affluent ex-senator before looking back at his datapad and started reading.

_Life drowned in linear time_

_For the greatest crime_

_In order to atone_

_The greatest power must be overthrown_

Dead End stopped and glared at Mirage. "Your answer."

"'Life Atoned' by Tyst," Mirage answered.

"Correct," Dead End said, a mild trace of surprise in his tone. "He's not very well known."

"Well, I like to make sure that I am the most well-read person in any room," Mirage answered. "If you're not more intellectual than another person, than you were consider lesser than the person."

"Ah, the life of a senator," Dead End said.

"Yes, it was a very competitive place. It was based on how smart you were and how well connected you were. If you weren't good at both, the other senators would walk all over you and your opinions," Mirage told him.

"Strength in numbers," Dead End muttered.

"More like forcing the loners out of the inner circles," Mirage told him.

"Ah, so a game of survival was played from the bottom all the way to the top," Dead End said.

"Correct. The strong feeds on the weak. That was how being a senator went and if you fell from grace, well…." Mirage slide his finger across his neck and made a slicing sound.

"How… brutal," Dead End muttered, looking back at his list of poems.

"Yes, it was, and considering our current situation, I'm not seeing much of a difference."

* * *

"This is an announcement. It is now 10 PM. Please rest peacefully," Monobear said over the intercom.

"It's getting late," Hoist said to Blurr.

"You bet it is!" Monobear shouted, jumping on top of the bear, to the brief surprised of the two before getting over it real quickly.

"What do you want, Monobitch?" Blurr questioned the teddy bear.

"You're still using that immature nickname?" Hoist questioned the racer.

"You're complaining?"

"No."

"Hey!" the bear yelled at them. "Don't act like I'm not here. I got needs."

"Oh, really? What can I give you that doesn't involved death?" Blurr questioned the bear.

"Simple, I want a nice cube of high grade," the bear asked him.

"Oh, is that all?" Blurr asked, surprised.

"Yes!" Monobear answered.

"Alright," Blurr complied, getting a cube of high-grade out. Monobear smiled greedily. Blurr positioned it for Monobear to grab it. Monobear raise his hand to grab it only to have Blurr tip it over onto the bar. "There. Lick it up," Blurr mocked.

"Uh-oh," Hoist murmured, gently sliding his chair away from the pair. Monobear glared at the racer, getting ready to tear him apart.

"What are you going to do?" Blurr asked. "I haven't broke any of your rules so you can't do anything to me," he mocked.

"You right, I can't, but I can expedite our process," Monobear threatened.

"What does that mean?" Blurr asked.

"It means, get to the auditorium now for the motive!" Monobear shouted at the racer. "I'll make an announcement to get everybody up," he finished, walking out of the lounge.

"Well, good job," Hoist snarked.

"Shut it!" Blurr shouted, jumping over the bar and heading for the auditorium. "Let's go."

* * *

Within ten minutes, everybody arrived at the auditorium, all tired and wanting to recharge.

"Why are we here?" Bumblebee muttered follow by giving a yawn. "I really need to recharge."

"The motive," Hoist said next to him.

"Right now?" Bumblebee asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Blame Blurr," Hoist answered, nudging the racer next to him. Bumblebee glared at him.

"Welcome," Monobear cheered happily. "Welcome to your next motive."

"Please, get it over with. I want to recharge!" Wildrider yelled at the teddy bear. "I like you, but I also like recharging."

"Alright, alright, simple. Judging from the conversations you've been having, some of you have already figured what this is and it's quite simple: your darkest secret expose!" the bear shouted to them.

"So you're going to reveal everybody's secret to everyone here?" Skywarp asked.

"Nope, there is a twist. I will be giving each of you one datapad that has three things on it. Your secret, so you know what it is, six names of your fellow teachers, and another secret. One of the six names on your datapad is the one with the dark secret. Every twenty hours, one name will be go away until one person is left at the hundredth mark except for one special datapad."

"Okay, so what, dude? It's just the 26 of us. I'm sure we can keep a secret," Beachcomber said.

"That's where you wrong. At the hundredth hour mark, the secret will be broadcasted all over the world," Monobear threaten them, "and, looking through the secrets, some of you would really want to keep it a secret."

"You're joking, right," Nautilator chuckled. "You wouldn't reveal our secrets to the entire world… right?"

"He's locked us up in a building where the only way out is to kill each other. I think he means it," Bludgeon told the (un)luckster.

"…Scrap," Nautilator murmured, deflated in his seat.

"Now then, when I called your name, come get your datapad," Monobear told the group as he brought one out from a box. "Ratchet, you're up first."

"Perfect," he muttered as he went up, took one, and looked at it. "I should really be more surprised that you know this, but I'm too tired to care," Ratchet said, walking past the bear and back to his seat. Slowly, one at a time, everyone went and got there datapad, reacting with a mixture of surprised, fear, and tiredness. It all kept going until he reached the last person.

"Blurr, for annoying me the most, I'm giving you the darkest secret in the whole school," Monobear told him. "Use this wisely," the bear told him. Blurr gave a groan, went up there, grabbed it, and looked at it. When he looked at it, he felt like he was punched in the gut.

_Blurr accidentally murdered his racing rival._

_Ratchet, Smokescreen, Chromedome, Nightbeat, Mirage, or Perceptor_

_One of them is a mole working for Monobear._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that for a cliffhanger?


	30. Chapter 3: The Assault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long-ass chapter. Enjoy chapter 30 and don't forget to comment and review.

Blurr stared silently at the datapad in his hand. The fact that Monobear knew about that was enough of a shocker, but the other secret was what put it over the top. The fact that one of them were willingly working with Monobear was insane. It just had to be false.

"Oh, you look surprised," Monobear said, getting closed to him. "Well, let me make one thing absolutely clear: everything I put on these datapads is 100% factual. There are no lies in any of these datapads."

"But that makes no sense!" Blurr yelled at him. "Why would anyone do that?"

"Well, I could tell you, but that would be spoiling, so you just take it, leave, and despair over what you should do. That makes things more fun for me," Monobear ordered the racer.

"Why you little-"

"Anyway, I'm done here. You all got your motivation, so have fun. It's currently 10:30 P.M. Please remember that 100 hundred hours from now, your secrets will be revealed to the whole world, as well as anybody else I can manage. The more the merrier," the bear chuckled before disappearing, leaving everybody by themselves. Everybody stayed silent as they read their datapads again to make sure that it was true.

"Well," Jazz said, getting the lead, "my head is hurting from the high-grade I drank earlier and due to the fact that I'm tired. We should all go to bed and talk about this tomorrow."

"He's right," Onslaught agreed. "We should all go into our rooms and not do anything too hasty."

Everyone agreed, and everyone left at the same time to the second floor. Everyone went to there room, except Blurr, who went to Jazz. "Hey, can talk to you in private?" Blurr asked as Jazz slipped his electroID over the device and opened his door.

"Blurr, whatever you planning, stop. It's not worth murder," Jazz told him.

"No, it's not that. It's about somebody else's secret," Blurr told him.

"What could makes the secret so bad that you have to talk to me about it," Jazz asked him. "I know Monobear said he gave you the darkest secret, but could it possibly affect us? The past is n the past," he told him as he began closing his door

"Because it's not about a past event, it's about what's happening right now," Blurr told him. Jazz paused and opened the door a bit wider to about a crack.

"Come again?" Jazz asked. Blurr glanced at the few people who haven't entered their room yet before leaning into the crack.

"Someone is a mole working for Monobear," Blurr murmured in hush tones. Almost immediately, Jazz swung the door open and pulled Blurr in and closed it shut.

"Who are the suspects?" Jazz asked harshly.

"Here," Blurr said, laying it on the table and covering his secret with his hand. Jazz went over and looked at it.

"Dammit," Jazz murmured. "I think I would've preferred it if you were actually trying to kill me."

"I just don't understand why any of us would work with that psychopath," Blurr said in disbelief. "I mean, we're all in agreement that he's a psychopath, so why would anybody want to work with him?"

"Let's go through the list one at a time," Jazz suggested. "Okay, Ratchet."

"Definitely wouldn't happen. I mean, come on, it's Ratchet. He's been an Autobot longer than most of us," Blurr argued.

"Agreed. From the list, I'd say that Smokescreen is probably the most suspicious," Jazz told him.

"I hate to say it, mostly because he's a good drinking buddy, but I agree with you on that," Blurr agreed. "He could've done it for a profit. Now Chromedome on the other hand, I can't see it being him. I mean, you've seen him and Rewind."

"True, and they're Conjunx Enduras. I don't think he would betray Rewind like this," Jazz agreed. "Nightbeat…"

"To be honest, I don't know much about him. I just know he's good at solving crimes," Blurr told him. "What do you think of him?"

"I don't know. I'd put him on the edge of being a suspect," Jazz told him.

"Sounds good to me," Blurr said.

"Mirage is an elitist, but I don't think he would do this, would he?" Jazz asked.

"I wouldn't trust a senator as far as I can throw them," Blurr told him. "Best put him in the middle with Nightbeat."

"Lastly, Perceptor. He's a scientist, so he may have some interest in conducting an experiment like this, but fatally and with us as the experiments? I don't think so," Jazz said.

"He's also one of the more loyal to the Autobots. I doubt he was put us in here with the Decepticons to slaughter each other. Now if it was just the Decepticons, I might see it," Blurr told him.

"Alright, so in order from least suspicious to most suspicious, it's Ratchet, Chromedome, Nightbeat, Perceptor, Mirage, and Smokescreen," Jazz concluded.

"Sounds good to me," Blurr.

"However, that doesn't mean we should count the least suspicious ones out. We don't know the motivations of the mole working for Monobear, so it could still be any of them. Until we find more information that can help us, we have to keep this fact hidden from them. The main question is should we tell anybody else?" Jazz asked.

"Well, if Nightbeat wasn't on the list, I'd say him, but since we can't, I think it's best to see who can keep their mouth shut and go from there," Blurr told him.

"Agreed. Any suggestions?" Jazz asked him.

"Well, I think Hoist can look into Perceptor for us. He's probably the most normal person here and doesn't talk much, along with the fact that if Perceptor needs anything fixed in his lab, Hoist does it for him," Blurr recommended.

"Okay, I think we can trust him enough for this," Jazz agreed. "You can look into Smokescreen for us, correct?"

"Sure," Blurr agreed.

"Alright, and I think I can look into Ratchet for anything suspicious," Jazz agreed. "Also, as weird as it might sound, I think we should recruit Counterpunch's help for this."

"That guy? Why him? He's a Decepticon," Blurr asked him.

"True, but he's the closest to Nightbeat from what I can tell, and his antisocial tendencies work well for us in that he won't tell anyone else," Jazz explained to him.

"Alright, that sounds good. Now, what about Mirage and Chromedome?" Blurr asked.

"I'm not quite sure. I'm thinking of getting Blast Off for that, but with what's been happening recently between him, Swindle, and Onslaught, I should probably find somebody else to get close to him. As for Chromedome, the only one he seems truly close with is Rewind, but they're Conjunx Enduras and Rewind would be bias in his investigation with him. We should probably asked around to see who knows the most about him that isn't Rewind," Jazz told him.

"Alright, sounds good," Blurr agreed, pulling the datapad behind his back and away from Jazz's optics. "Hopefully, if we keep everybody from murdering each other within the next 100 hours, we'll have out answer."

"That would be ideal, but you have to remember Blurr, everybody's secret is in the air, and who knows what secrets everybody else have. One of them might just have a secret worth killing somebody else for to hide it," Jazz told him. "The mole isn't the only person we have to watch out for."

"Yeah, good point," Blurr muttered. Jazz glared at him.

"You're not planning on murdering anyone to keep it a secret, right?" Jazz asked him.

"Uh? No, of course not," Blurr told him.

"What could you have done to get you on edge, man," Jazz asked him.

"What have you done?" Blurr turned it around on him. Jazz grew angry at that remarked, glaring at Blurr.

"I've done enough to make me lose some sleep at night, but for the greater good of everyone here, I'll let Monobear revealed it if it will keep everyone else safe," Jazz told him bluntly, walking ever so closely to him. "Now listen Blurr, whatever damage that secret will do to your public reputation, you'll suffer through it. All of our lives are on the line here and I expect you to do whatever it takes to save them all. This isn't just the Autobot way, it what you do in any situation. So stay strong, figure out if Smokescreen is a mole or not, and make sure nobody else murders anyone, got that?" Jazz ordered him.

Blurr stared silently at him, stunned by his speech, before answering quietly, "Yes."

"Good, now, go to your room, recharge, and we'll make a plan of attack tomorrow, okay," Jazz soften, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure," Blurr agreed, walking towards the door and opening it. He turned back and said one more thing. "Thanks for that," Blurr thanked him.

"It's what I do," Jazz said, getting on his recharge slab and relaxing on it. "Good night, Blurr."

"Good night," Blurr parroted, closing the door.

* * *

**Day 10**

**Hours Remaining: 91**

Breakfast ended for the group and everyone left, with Jazz, Blurr, Counterpunch, and Hoist together in a group. Jazz and Blurr had asked the latter two to join them in Jazz's room. The two had wondered why they wanted them, but followed with little struggle. The four entered the room and took a seat together at the table.

"Alright, what do you want with me, Autoscum," Counterpunch asked the two.

"Same, minus the Autoscum part," Hoist agreed.

"Okay, look, this is a manner of great importance," Jazz told the two. "This room is soundproof to prevent any of the others listening in on us."

"That sounds… dire," Hoist murmured.

"More than you think. Look, we've got a breach," Jazz told them.

"Breach?" Counterpunch murmured.

"Someone among us works for Monobear," Blurr explained.

"What!" Counterpunch shouted angrily, slamming his fists on the table. "Who?"

"It's between six people. Ratchet, Smokescreen, Chromedome, Nightbeat, Mirage, and Perceptor," Jazz told them.

"So it's one of your kind that's betrayed us," Counterpunch questioned.

Jazz gave a small hurt sigh and answered: "Yes, one of them did, but that's not important. We need to figure out which of them did and I need your help."

"You do?" Counterpunch asked.

"Nightbeat is pretty friendly with you. We need you to get close to him and try to see if he's working for Monobear," Jazz told him.

"Hmm, fine," Counterpunch agreed.

"Hoist, I need you get close to Perceptor and pay attention to any suspicious things he does," Jazz told the repairer.

"I can do that," Hoist murmured reluctantly.

"Me and Blurr will take Ratchet and Smokescreen respectively," Jazz told the two.

"Now, what to do with Mirage and Chromedome?" Blurr wondered.

"That's a problem," Jazz said. "Rewind is too close to Chromedome to investigate for us and Blast Off is too busy dealing with the Brawl and Vortex fallout to help us out with Mirage."

"May I offer a suggestion?" Hoist asked.

"What?" Jazz asked

"Ask the two Stunticons for help," he told him.

"What? Why those two nutcases?" Blurr asked him.

"Because, Wildrider, while crazy, is closer to those two than the others and I've seen Dead End and Mirage talking with each other," Hoist asked him.

"Look, I don't want any loose cannons on the mission. This has to be a purely clandestine affair," Jazz told him.

"Look, if I had anybody who were more subtle, I would've told you, but they are the only ones who can get close to them. Take it or leave," Hoist told them.

"I like it. Good way to keep things unbiased," Counterpunch said, just a tad bit smugly with a slight grinned on his face.

"Okay, can we kick him to the curb?" Blurr asked Jazz.

"No, we already got him, we have to live with that," Jazz told him.

"Jazz," Hoist beckoned, "either you get them to help us or no one at all."

Jazz gave a groaned of disapproval, thinking things through. Wildrider was a total psychopath who has never heard of subtlety and Dead End was a fatalistic nihilist with little in terms of self-preservation. In terms of reliable allies, they were very low on the list, and yet, they were the only ones who could get close to them…

"Alright, fine. I'll track them down and tell them about the plan," Jazz agreed with Hoist. "I hope this doesn't backfire on us."

"I got a quick questioned," Counterpunch told them.

"What?" Blurr asked.

"When we figure out who the mole is, what do we do with them?" Counterpunch asked. "We can't kill them as that would just result in another person dead, but we can't just ignored them."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes," he told them, getting up from the table. "For now, let's get out of here before anybody suspects anything."

"Alright," he agreed, standing up, the rest following along.

"I'll get started in my investigation immediately. I wish the rest of you good luck," Hoist said, making his way to the door, open it, and turned back to them. "And Jazz, if my idea backfires, I'm sorry," he said, making his way out.

"I should go and see if our dear detective is doing anything," Counterpunch said, leaving the room as well.

"Well, that could've gone better," Blurr murmured.

"It could've been worse," Jazz countered. "Anyway, I have the extremely tough job of getting the two most mentally screwed-up people in here to engage in clandestine operations, which is the antithesis of what they're good at. Weep for me," Jazz snarked with a small smile on his face.

"Oh, trust me. I know I got it easy," Blurr said as the two headed out.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 90**

"What's going on?" Hoist asked the two scientists in the lab.

"Cooking up some high-grade," Mixmaster told him.

"Both of you?" he asked.

"Yes. I sampled it and, as someone who has experimented with a variety of high-grades, it is divine," Perceptor told him.

"Why?" Hoist asked leaning in.

"Well, I figured that, if I don't make it out, someone should be able to brew it in my absence," Mixmaster told him.

"Are you that serious about it?" Hoist asked.

"Of course. As scientists, we drink and do so many things in the name of science that we need a extremely strong drink to get us buzzed," Mixmaster told him.

"You're kidding me, right?" Hoist asked.

"Get us in a drinking contest with everyone else and we'll throw them under the table," Perceptor told him with a smirk.

"You two are crazy," Hoist murmured.

"Hey, that's a stereotype," Mixmaster told him.

"All stereotypes emerge from a kernel of truth," he shot back.

"He has a point," Perceptor agreed with a slight smile. "Secretly, we're all a little mad."

"Well, thanks to our prison, I think we're all a little mad," Hoist murmured sadly.

"Yes, we are," Perceptor agreed, a small, sad tone in his voice. "This place has a way of getting to you, more than just being a syk addict or being an overachiever would get to you. This place gets to your every thought, making you wonder 'is he going to kill me?' It's a wretched feeling and I wouldn't wished it on anyone," Perceptor ended his monologue, leaving the three silent.

"Right, I think it's done," Mixmaster said, trying to get everyone back to a happier feeling. "Who wants the first shot?" he asked.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 88**

"Why did you choose to bother me today, Jazz?" Dead End asked in the library, as he was reading a poem.

"A favor," he asked him.

"What?" he asked him.

"First, I want you to know that this is strictly between me, you, and three, maybe four, other individuals. This has to be kept on the down low," he told him, making a gestures with his hand to keep it quiet.

"What are you afraid of?" Dead End asked him.

"Well, you are a fatalist," Jazz told him.

"Fatalist are usually _self_ -destructive," Dead End pointed out to him.

"Yeah, and I'm surprised you haven't killed yourself," Jazz murmured darkly.

"I've tried, than I realize I didn't have the strength in me to do it, so I conceded to make sure someone else kills me swiftly and leaving a respectable-looking corpse," Dead End told him. "I may be a fatalist, but I am neither suicidal nor masochistic."

"Ah, that's good, I guess, but can you sane enough to work in secret?" Jazz asked him.

"Have you got me confused with Wildrider?" Dead End asked.

"The Stunticons have a reputation for being the dysfunctional-ness and you understand my reluctance to work with you," Jazz told him.

"Then why me?" Dead End asked.

"Because I have no other options," Jazz told him.

"Uh-huh, yes, whatever, just get to the point. I'll keep it a secret," Dead End commanded him blandly.

"Do you promised?" Jazz asked.

"I'll treat it like everything else," Dead End told him.

"Considering the sensitivity of the fragging situation, I need you to actually care about this instead of getting obsessed with your self-loathing and your poetry. Do this for the group," Jazz snapped at him.

"Alright, fine, just tell me," Dead End told him. Jazz gave a deep sign in frustration before answering.

"There's a mole working for Monobear." For the first time in the whole conversation, Dead End looked up from his datapad.

"Okay. My interest has been pique," Dead End said. "I'm guessing that's the big, dark secret Blurr got so tell me who the six suspects are."

"Ratchet, Smokescreen, Chromedome, Nightbeat, Mirage, and Perceptor," Jazz told him.

"All Autobots? How interesting. I thought for sure it would be one of us," Dead End told him.

"Yeah, whatever, look, I need you to get close to Mirage. You two have got something in common, right?"

"We are both interested in poetry," Dead End replied, relaxing in his seat.

"Great. Work on that and get close to him. I need information" Jazz ordered.

"Hmpf, fine," he agreed. "May I ask who else is helping?"

"I'm dealing with Ratchet, Blurr's got Smokescreen, Counterpunch has Nightbeat, and Hoist is dealing with Perceptor."

"And Chromedome?" Dead End asked.

"Uh, well," Jazz hesitated, "we plan on getting Wildrider to do that." Dead End looked at him strangely.

"If I had a sense of humor, I would be laughing at you," Dead End told him blankly.

"I'm serious," Jazz told him.

"Oh, well, that changes things. Let me convince him to do it," Dead End told him, going back to his poem.

"Uh, what?" Jazz asked, startled.

"Look," Dead End lectured, glancing up at him, "Wildrider is on a different wavelength than everyone else. I'm the only one here prepared for dealing with him. Leave it to me," Dead End told him, going back to his datapad.

"Look, okay, but, I can't let you do this by yourself," Jazz told him.

"My, you are stupider than I thought," Dead End muttered.

"Come again?" the spy asked, glaring at him.

"Jazz, unlike you, I've had to live with Wildrider for far longer than most people should and managed to keep my sanity the same as it was before I met him. A stunning achievement that you will never match," Dead End told him in an almost sincere tone. "We are the very opposite of each other's spectrum. I'm on the end of the sane side and he's at the end of the insane side. Perfect foils to each other. Surprisingly, I would call him a friend in the vaguest of terms. Let me take care of him by myself and all will be quiet," Dead End finished his case, looking back down at his poem. Jazz stared at him before shaking his head in understanding.

"Alright, you make a good point. I'll let you handle it," Jazz said, getting up. "Don't screw up."

"Understand."

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 87**

"Hey Smokescreen. Hound," Blurr mentioned the latter off-handedly in the bar at the mall.

"What up?" Smokescreen greeted.

"You know, if you guys wanted to drink some good stuff, you could've just come to my bar. Mixmaster gave me plenty to service you guys," Blurr told them. Almost immediately, Smokescreen started glaring at him.

"Why the frag are you acting like a narc?" Smokescreen asked.

"Huh?" Blurr wondered.

"Oh, come on. 'Plenty to service you guys.' Seriously, I've had enough experience with them to tell when someone acts suspiciously, especially that prick, Prowl," Smokescreen told him.

"Yeah, it's kind of obvious," Hound agreed with him.

"So, why do you want to talk to me?" Smokescreen asked him, continuing to glare at Blurr.

"Hey, hey, look. I'm sorry, I'm just trying to gain some information," Blurr told him.

"About what?" Smokescreen asked him.

Blurr was nervous and trying to figure out a way to salvage this. "Can I talk to you privately?" Blurr asked him. Smokescreen glare deepen.

"Hound, could you leave us alone for just one minute?" Smokescreen asked him.

"Uh, sure. Just try not to be too serious," Hound told him as he got up and headed out of the bar with a cube of energon at hand.

"Alright, what?" Smokescreen asked him.

"Okay, look, an anonymous source told me that he saw Hound buying a weapon from the store," Blurr lied to him.

"No slag?" Smokescreen asked him in disbelief.

"It's the truth," Blurr told him, closing in. "How about me and you work together to make sure he doesn't do anything too hasty with that weapon." Smokescreen glanced at him.

"Alright," Smokescreen answered with a shake of his head. "If my life is in danger, I'll work with you."

"Alright, good," Blurr said as he turned to the bartender. "Two cubes of high-grade," he told him while showing off two digits. The bartender complied, bringing two out. Blurr grabbed both of them and hand one to Smokescreen. "Here's to our partnership," he told him, extending his cube. Smokescreen glared at hi before smirking and banging the cubes together.

"Here's," Smokescreen agreed and downed it.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 86**

"What up, Deady? Lunch's is going to start soon and we should probably be heading there soon," Wildrider told him in the groundbridge room.

"Wildrider," Dead End snapped.

"Hmm?" Wildrider wondered, gazing at him.

"How would you like to be a secret agent?" Dead End asked him. Almost immediately, Wildrider smiled heartily.

"Yes yes yes yes!" Wildrider cheered loudly.

"Wildrider, you realized secret agent means clandestine, correct?" Dead End told him.

"I'll keep it a secret. Trust me. I won't tell a single soul," Wildrider agreed.

"This will last until the motive's timer run out, you understand?" he asked the manic.

"I understand," Wildrider agreed.

"Wildrider, everyone considers you a psychopath with no sense of subtlety. For the most part, they're right," Dead End told him bluntly, "but, I know you can do it if you put your mind to it, as I have seen for better or worse, especially when they said you couldn't wipe a whole squad out and came out with an arm and part of your head missing."

"I got it," Wildrider nodded. "I will followed your exact order. You are Motormaster if he wasn't a gigantic dick."

"I'll take that as an esteemed compliment," Dead End said blandly. "Now, listen, one of the Autobots is working for Monobear." Wildrider optics brighten at that.

"Seriously. I love this bastard and all that he does and you're telling me somebody has a link to him and didn't tell me," Wildrider ranted.

"Yes, I am, and I need you to spy on one of them and infiltrate their inner circle of friends or at least get them to tolerate you," Dead End ordered.

"Alright, who?" Wildrider asked him.

"Chromedome," Dead End told him.

"Oh, one-half of a conjunx endura. You spoil me, you know, deady," Wildrider complimented, lightly rubbing Dead End's front seductively. Dead End brushed it off, dismissing him.

"Yes, yes, whatever, just remember not to get caught and tell no one," Dead End told him as he started the groundbridge. "It's time for lunch."

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 85**

"Ah, Counterpunch. I'm surprised to see you again," Nightbeat said as the two logged on to the computer next to each other in the archives. "Why do you wish to see me again?" he asked.

"Some questions?" Nightbeat asked.

"Look, I'm trying to reconnect the dots on my past," Counterpunch half-lied to him.

"Ah, well, I guess I can help with that," Nightbeat told him. "What is it? Selective memory deletion, amnesia, or something else?"

"I honestly don't know. I mean, all things point to a life of someone completely different, but I still remember them," Counterpunch confessed to him. "I was thinking you could help me look through the archives and towards an answer to this."

"Hmm, I can try. It would be nice to do something non-murder related in this place," Nightbeat agreed. "Can you tell me anything about these memories?"

"Well, they involved Autobots, particularly that dirty spy," Counterpunch told him.

"Dirty spy? Do you mean Jazz?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Yes, him," Counterpunch verified. "Aside from that, I'm not sure what else to say. It's just blurry still shots."

"You should probably check out Ratchet or Knock Out to see if they can get any medicine to help you memories," Nightbeat told him.

"I'll remember that," Counterpunch told him.

"We could search through the memory banks on the archives and see if we could come up anything regarding you. Probably look through military engagements and other things," he told him.

"Alright, let's get started," Counterpunch agreed.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 84**

"Hey, Ratchet, Knock Out, and Scavenger," Jazz greeted the three as he took a seat at the table in the lunchroom.

"Ah, Jazz. How are you?" Ratchet greeted.

"Doing fine. What are you three doing together?" Jazz asked.

"Well, as the only two medics, we inevitably have the most in common to talk about," Knock Out answered morosely.

"And Scavenger here says he wants to be a medic," Ratchet told him.

"He does?" Jazz asked.

"Well, I played medical assistant to Hook for pretty much the whole war, I might as well take the step up and apply for the full position," Scavenger told him as he munched on an oil ball. "I probably won't make it."

"He's also surprisingly cynical," Ratchet told him.

"What? Just the fact of the matter that I probably won't make it out of here alive. I mean, you three, yeah, you can get out of here, but me?" he told them. "I mean, Bludgeon, Blurr, Counterpunch, Nightbeat, Perceptor, Onslaught, Mixmaster, they are all people who would survive situations like this. Me? One or two more trials before I get axed," he explained.

"See what I mean?" he pointed out.

"Although his logic is flawed. I mean, Shockwave died first and Soundwave got executed. If they can died, than anybody can died," Knock Out pointed out.

"Good point," Ratchet agreed.

"Yeah, whatever," Scavenger mumbled.

"At this point, I really want to slap him," Knock Out murmured.

"Anyway, why are you here?" Scavenger asked the spy.

"Came to see how you guys are doing and provide back-up for Ratchet," he explained to them. "Don't want him to be outnumbered."

"Jazz, I am capable of taking care of myself," he told him. "Besides, I doubt they will try to kill me. Me and Knock Out have already come to an understanding."

"And my reputation is already in the can. My secret being exposed would barely do anything to affect people's perception of me," Scavenger told them.

"He's a very cheerful person," Knock Out sardonically remarked.

"Not as much as Dead End, haha. Trust me, I know," Jazz told him.

"Don't get me started on that sad sack," Knock Out complained. "So, place your bets on who has the deep, dark secret that somebody is going to kill over," he asked the group.

"Do you have to ask that, Knock Out?" Ratchet asked him.

"Hey, I just want to know who the frontrunners are so I can stay away from them," Knock Out told them. "What secrets do you guys got? Mine was that somebody bully someone enough to make them commit suicide," Knock Out told them.

"Do you really want to talk casually about this?" Ratchet asked them.

"Don't you. Come on, offset some of your weight onto our shoulders," Knock Out asked him.

"Ugh, fine," Ratchet agreed. "Someone here accidently killer their rival." He turned to Jazz. "What about you?"

"Someone was drunk off high-grade and killed someone by accident," Jazz told them.

"Alright, good," Knock Out said, turning to Scavenger. "How about you?"

"Someone's a serial killer," Scavenger told him.

"What?!" Knock Out asked.

"Come again?!" Ratchet asked.

"You're serious?" Jazz asked.

"Yes," Scavenger told them. "It said that someone murdered seven people. Pre-war."

"Oh, slag," Ratchet murmured. "Who is on that list of yours?" he asked.

"Let's see if I can remember. Uh, Bludgeon, Smokescreen, Blast Off, Swindle, Drift, and Nightbeat," he told them.

"Thanks for the info. In four hours, a name will go away. Do tell me," Knock Out told him.

"Agreed," Ratchet said.

"Same," Jazz agreed.

"Alright. I'll keep you informed," Scavenger agreed, getting up to leave. "I'll be in my room."

"I'll think I'll head to the mall for a little while. See you guys at dinner," Knock Out told them.

"Alright, see you guys later," Ratchet told them as he turned to Jazz. "Can I talk to you a little bit in private later?" he asked him.

"Uh, sure," Jazz agreed.

"Good. I would talk to you now, but I made an agreement with Drift to do some stupid meditation with him in a few minutes," he told him. "I could use it if it works."

"Right, take care," Jazz told him.

"You too," Ratchet agreed.

* * *

**Hour Remaining: 83 Hours**

"Ah, Mirage. How are you," Dead End greeted the ex-senator as he entered the mall's bookstore.

"Ah, if it isn't the manic-depressive poet," Mirage said as he began sifting through the datapads. "How are you?"

"Just fine," he replied.

"Ah, good. So, what do you want?" Mirage asked.

"Well, considering you're the most well-cultured one here, I figured we could talk more about poetry," Dead End offered.

"Hmm, sounds good," he agreed.

Over in the corner, Skywarp glared at the two, annoyed, as he kept reading his datapad to Laserbeak.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 82.5**

"Hey there," Wildrider greeted the Conjunx Enduras at the tables in the mall who were eating oil balls. The two stared blankly at him before one of them talked.

"Uh, hey, uh, Wildrider. What do you want?" Rewind asked.

"Oh, me. I just want to make sure you two are fine after your little, you know, domestic thingy," Wildrider told them. "Wanted to make sure my OTP was still all good."

"OTP?" Chromedome asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about. Now, are your two cuties doing good?" Wildrider asked them.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 82.4**

"Ah, 'Under the Western Sun.' Such a wonderful story," Mirage said as he examined the datapad on it. "Thank Primus they actually keep a copy of it here."

"Ah, a pretty good story by Aurelius, but I personally prefer his other work, 'The Farthest Reaches.' Either way, both are fantastic works of Fantasy," Dead End told him.

"Ah, yes, I agree," Mirage said. "He has such a good way of building his world with rich descriptions and lovely characters. It's such a shame that people didn't pay much attention to him."

"Well, Fantasy isn't exactly a popular genre for the masses," Dead End remind him.

"Yeah, it isn't."

Skywarp and Laswerbeak continued to glare at them as they disturbed their peace.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 82.3**

"Well, we went and got these oil balls from the candy store over there," Rewind told him, pointing towards the store over there.

"Oh, really, we got a candy store!" Wildrider yelled, looking at it. "I had no idea."

"Yes, well, now you know," Chromedome told him roughly.

"Hey, is that an unfriendly tone," Wildrider asked, turning to look at him.

"You are an unsavory type," he told him.

"Oh, really?" Wildrider asked, sounding hurt.

"Yes," Chromedome told him.

"Domey, that isn't nice. We're all friends here," Rewind told him.

"Oh, Rewind, you misunderstand me. I'm not hurt that he insulted me. I'm hurt that he didn't go further. I mean, 'unsavory.' Come on, that's a protoform level insult at best. Please," he begged, leaning in, "imbue me with your wonderful hatred."

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 82.2**

"Ah, thank you Dead End for being my reading partner. I knew all of you Decepticons weren't bad, but it's nice to get someone to remind me," Mirage thanked him.

"It was nice to meet someone cultural. Amongst the Decepticons, it's just a bunch of savages and imbeciles, so dealing with people who are actually smart is wonderful," Dead End thanked him as well.

"You know, this was a pretty fruitful experience. I wouldn't mind spending time with you tomorrow," Mirage told him.

"II wouldn't mind it," Dead End agreed.

"Good," he said, offering his hand out to shake. Dead End glance at it before grasping it and shaking it.

"See you at dinner," he told him," he told him, the two heading off.

Skywarp glared at where the two were previous at and gave a small smirk. "Alright, Laz, let's finished off Cyber Ninja Academy," he told him as they looked through the comic on the datapad.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 82.1**

"See, now that's better," Wildrider thanked Chromedome. "I needed some more hatred. Something I got from Motormaster, that gigantic dick."

"Uh, okay," Rewind said nervously.

"I'm a masochist," Wildrider told them. "Physical and emotional."

"Wow, you're… really screwed up," Rewind murmured.

"Beyond screwed up," Chromedome agreed.

"Yeah, well, I've been broken for a long time, so it's nothing new," Wildrider told them.

"It's getting close to dinner," Rewind told them.

"Oh, alright. I'll see you two lovebirds at dinner, alright?" Wildrider asked two stared silently at him. "Alright," he muttered, walking off.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 81.3**

"Alright, so what are we here for?" Swindle asked Onslaught as him and Blast Off sat at the table in the lunchroom.

"Blast Off showed me the psychology experiments," Onslaught told him.

"Psychology experiments," a harsh voiced asked. The group turned to the door to see Bludgeon and Nautilator answering the room together. "What kind?" Bludgeon asked him.

"Why do we always see you two together?" Swindle asked them.

"It's an odd friendship," Nautilator told him.

"Anyway," Blast Off interrupted, "the psychology experiments were something Vortex found in his final hour. It's a long list of psychological experiments committed by various groups and races that decided to test the limits of the mind. Cybertronian, Human, and many more."

"Alright, you have my interest," Bludgeon said as he took his usual spot at the table.

"I don't get it," Nautilator told him as he took a seat in his spot too, "but I'm up for learning more things."

"Psychology experiment are a touchy bunch," Blast Off told him. "Take, for example, the prisoner's dilemma. It's a game theory in when you two individuals, let's called them prisoner A and B, in separate places, completely isolated from each other. Each one of them is offered a deal. If both of them stay silent and say nothing, than they will be released in two years' time. However, if one defects, say prisoner A, and tells something while the other does nothing, than prisoner A gets out immediately and Prisoner B gets six years' worth. If both of them tell them something, they both get out in four years."

"Oh, yeah, that terrible thing. It's upon the fact that, people will more than likely snitch because they will get less prison time, just in case the other defects. Each prisoner realizes that there is less risk involve in choosing to stay silent, so they talk, just in case," Swindle explained the rest.

"It just gets weirder from there," Onslaught told them. "The Milgram Experiment, The Bystander Experiment, The Stanford Prison Experiment, and that's just the humans. You don't want to know what we've done in the name of psychology."

"Doesn't have quite the ring to it that science has," Nautilator commented.

"It doesn't matter. The point is, this is another one of these psychological experiments," Onslaught told them. "We're living in a psychological experiment of his own design. To get us to our breaking point and see just what we'll do to get out alive. See who's willing to sacrifice the rest to escape and smart enough to pull it off."

"Hmm, it is a cruel experiment," Bludgeon agreed. "If I was smart enough, I would pull it off."

"Haha, that's funny," Nautilator chuckled, giving him a light punch in the arm. "You're kidding right?" Bludgeon glared at him and Nautilator's laugh deaden. "Oh slag, you're not kidding."

"It's nothing personal."

"Okay, that's enough," Onslaught interrupted. "The point is, the person who did all this and is doing it with a bias, looking for the results he want. The best way to get out of here alive is to defy him."

"Yeah, way to point out the obvious, too mad the motives prevent that from actually happening. I mean, we all got them, right? We can all agree that people are more than willing to kill to prevent that from being exposed," Swindle told the group. "It's just a matter of when."

"Okay, you're really killing my mood now," Nautilator told him.

"Get over it. I'm just telling the truth," Swindle barked.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 81**

"Well, that was a waste," Drift grumbled as he took a seat at the bar in the mall.

"Are you despairing, my friend?" the bartender.

"What, no," Drift answered.

"Ah, too bad. I wished you would be like that little blue guy over there," he said with a nod over to his right. Drift turned to looked at Beachcomber at the bar, drinking some high-grade.

"How long has he been drinking?" Drift asked.

"An hour, consisting entirely of high-grade," the bartender answered.

"Seriously," Drift asked in disbelief.

"I heard scientist are really good at drinking people under the table, and last I check, geology is a field of science," he answered.

"Well, I believe you," he answered, getting up and walking over to take a seat next to him. "Hey, Beachcomber," Drift greeted.

"Heeeeey, what up?" Beachcomber asked him.

"I didn't take you as a heavy drinker," Drift noticed.

"Well, I wasn't until me and Shockers had some one-on-one timeee," Beachcomber answered.

"Oh, yeah… that," Drift murmured.

"Some awful, eeeeevil monster of a Decepticon captured me and brought me to Shockwave to be experimented on," Beachcomber blubbered, staring at him. "You know, he kind of looks like you, just, you know, eviler looking."

"Oh, yeah, that… I had a twin, you know," he lied. "Awful guy, did a lot of bad things. But he's dead now. He won't be do anymore things like that," Drift told him. Beachcomber stared at him blankly before locking him in a hug.

"You promise?" Beachcomber asked him. Drift hesitated before he answered.

"I promise."

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 80.05**

"Come on in," Jazz greeted Ratchet after he knocked on the door. "How did your meditation go?"

"Terrible. I don't know how he convinced me to go along with that," Ratchet complained as he entered the room. Jazz closed the door behind him and sat down in their chairs.

"Okay, so what did you want, Ratchet?" Jazz asked.

"Well, to put it bluntly, you have my secret," Ratchet answered.

"Uh?!" Jazz asked, surprised.

"I killed someone by accident while I was over-energized with high-grade," Ratchet told him.

"What… but…," Jazz blubbered.

"Look, Pharma, the one that I had tailor-made to take over when I got too old to work, just shown himself to be completely pit-slag insane and I was in a bad place. I mean, I've been working with him for over a millennium, only for it to turn out he was a complete psychopath. I… I drank some high-grade when I got a called saying that someone was injured. A couple pieces of shrapnel got in him, hit nothing critical. I thought in my overloaded state, that I could still do it. In the end, it ended with one dead patient on my table, who died when I slipped up and accidently cut into his spark. He died screaming." Ratchet went silent as he finished his explanation. Jazz stated at him dumbly as he processed the information.

"Ratchet, that's… that's-"

"Horrible, despicable, stupidest decision of my life: those are all viable answers, but it's something I have to live with. I've accept that. If Monobear exposes it to the world, then I'll live with that. Whatever. I don't care. I've already told Optimus. We've talked it through. We promised to keep it silent along with First Aid, the one who assisted me. We are the only ones who know, or at least I thought we were," Ratchet ended, thinking it through. "How did they know about that?"

"Ratchet, don't change the subject. What you did… is-"

"Jazz, complaining to me about being immoral is hypocritical and you know it," Ratchet reminded him. "You're nowhere near a manipulative bastard as Prowl, but I know you've done a couple of questionable things. Now-" he said, getting up, "-I'm leaving. I told you my secret because you had it. Seemed reasonable and I could trust you. I'm didn't tell you this for your judgment, I told you this because I consider you as a friend. Live with what I've done like I've live what you've done. Simple. Now, I'll see you at dinner. See you there," Ratchet told him as he leaved and opened the door. "What the-" Jazz turned to see what Ratchet had seen. There at the door was Scavenger, holding his head which had energon trickling.

"Guys, somebody came into my room, bashed my head in, wrecked my room, and took the datapad with the secret on it."


	31. Chapter 3: Isolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to make this longer, but it's been such a long time since I've updated, I've decided to post this now. With college starting today, I don't know how much time I can spend on this, but I will try as hard as I can to update this.

**Hours Remaining: 80**

"Woah, hold on. What?" Jazz asked, getting up and heading to the door.

"I-I'm not feeling so good…," Scavenger murmured as he started to tilt a little bit. Immediately, Ratchet grabbed onto Scavenger and supported him.

"The blow to the head probably did some serious damage. I'll take him to the infirmary and treat him," Ratchet informed Jazz as he started guiding Scavenger to the infirmary.

"Alright. I'll head to his room and secure it," Jazz told him as he closed his door behind him and headed to Scavenger's room right across from him when the door next to Scavenger opened up.

"Woah… What happened?" Bumblebee asked the trio.

"Somebody attacked Scavenger in his room," Ratchet answered quickly for the scout, still limping Scavenger to the infirmary. "Help Jazz search the area."

"You got it," Bumblebee agreed, turning to the spy. "Man, crazy stuff just keep happening."

"You're telling me," Jazz agreed, opening the cracked door opened completely, allowing him to survey the room. Inside, the room was a mess. The table was turned over; drawers, shelves, and cabinets were all pulled opened; and stuff from them littered the floor. A small pool of energon was near the entrance to the room with a barely noticeable trail heading out of the room.

"Why didn't they kill him?" Bumblebee asked Jazz as he looked around the room.

"My guess? He's willing to hide his secret, but willing to wait it out to see if anybody else commits a killing first," Jazz told him.

"The secret," Bumblebee murmured. "So, somebody knew Scavenger had their secret and stole the datapad to keep him and anybody else from knowing it was him. The twenty hour rule no longer applies and no one can figure it out it's him with a decreasing list."

"Exactly," Jazz agreed as he looked around the room. "At least he's cautious enough to not kill Scavenger. We don't have to figure out who attacked him."

"Although it would benefit as greatly if we did," Bumblebee said as he finished his examination of the room. "This guy didn't leave much behind. It's a mess, but it's nothing we can use."

"Maybe Scavenger can tell us more after he recovers, although I doubt it. He was probably hit from behind," Jazz muttered depressingly as he continued his search. "I don't see a weapon here, so the attacker probably took it out of the room after finishing he was done rifling through the room."

"Makes sense," Bumblebee agreed as he entered the bathroom to do a quick look in it. "Looks like some dried energon in the sink. They probably cleaned their weapon before leaving the room."

"Which means they are more careful then I thought," Jazz said as he finished his search of the room. "We need to round up the six people the secret mentioned and question them."

"Who are they?" Bumblebee asked as he came out of the room.

"Bludgeon, Nightbeat, Drift, Smokescreen, Swindle, and Blast Off. Can you inform everyone about these and get the six to the lunchroom?" Jazz requested.

"You got it," he agreed, heading out of the room.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 79.3**

The six suspects sat together at the lunchroom table together as they were asked to. They wondered exactly why they were asked there, but didn't ask any questions.

"So, how's everybody doing?" Swindle asked the other five there.

"Paranoid," Smokescreen said as he looked around at everyone. "Why exactly have they group the six of us together?"

"Well, there's six of here and that's the number on the datapads with the secrets. Probably something to do with that," Nightbeat replied.

"I agree. Obviously, someone has a very dark secret and wanted to isolate us," Blast Off answered.

"It can't be that bad… can it?" Drift asked.

"Never underestimate the depths of cruelty. This prison should've made it clear to you by now," Bludgeon reminded the swordsman.

"Is there something wrong with being optimistic?" Drift asked him.

"Considering what happen in the previous two trials, yes," Nightbeat told him, noticing the two Combaticons flinching at the remark. "We need to be suspicious of everyone around us."

"We don't have to be suspicious of one another," Drift argued, gesturing himself, Nightbeat, and Smokescreen. "We're Autobots. We're the good guys. None of us has killed each other yet."

"May I remind you that you used to be one of us?" Blast Off chided him. "I'm sure the Autobots you killed would disagree with your statement."

"I'm not one of you now!" Drift yelled at the aristocrat. "That man is long dead."

"A failure to accept your past self destines you to failure," Bludgeon remarked.

"Oh, really, you-"

"Guys!" Smokescreen shouted at them, causing them to go quiet. "We need to remain calm, or else I'm use one of us is going to kill the other, regardless of them of being an Autobot or a Decepticon."

"Yeah, he's right," Swindle agreed, softly rubbing his bandaged hand. "We just need to calm down and think about this. Obviously, someone here did a really bad thing, but we all need to ignore that and try to keep each other safe."

"Don't worry. I won't turn my back on you," Drift said to the merchant.

"Hey that wasn't my fault, you-"

At that point, the door opened to showed Jazz entering by himself. He walked briskly over to the sextant and addressed them quickly. "Not too long ago, someone attacked Scavenger in his room and took his datapad with the secret on it. You six were the people on the datapad whose secret it could belong too, which means you are the most likely suspects for assaulting him."

"Assault? Not kill?" Smokescreen asked, surprised.

"Yes. Ratchet is treating him right now, so he should be fine. It doesn't change the fact that one of you guys is willing to attack someone to keep you secret silent and is also likely to murder someone later when the clock runs down. We can't trust any of you at this moment," Jazz told them.

"Oh, come on, you can trust us," Drift told him, indicating the Autobots in the room.

"I would like to believe that, but we're not taking any chances."

"It's probably Swindle failing at killing someone again," Drift told him, glaring at the 'Con.

"And I bet you're blaming me to hide the fact that you did it," Swindle rebuked, equally glaring at him.

"Guys, calm down," Smokescreen asked the two. The two continued to glare at each other as Jazz went on.

"We're going to interrogate you one at a time to recount where you've been so Drift, you want to start us out?" Jazz asked him, really wanting to get him and Swindle away from each other.

"Fine," Drift agreed with a huff as he got up and followed Jazz out of the room and into the room across from it. Inside was a regular classroom, although the desks have been moved to the wall and a makeshift interrogation area was made with the teacher's desk and two chairs. Jazz quickly took a seat behind the desk while Drift sat in front of it.

"Alright, let's start with after the search through the archives. Where did you go after that?" Jazz asked him.

"Well, I talked to Ratchet a little bit after that and set up an appointment to meet up later for a meditation session. After that, I just hung around the library for a little while by myself to see if I could find any datapads on enhancing my skills with a sword and a meditation datapad for Ratchet to read about to help him along. A couple hours ago, I met Ratchet in my room and it didn't go well. It mostly consisted of Ratchet complaining to me that this was stupid. After that, I hung out in the bar with Beachcomber until you guys came to get me," Drift finished

"Did you leave anything out?" Jazz asked him.

"No, I didn't," he replied simply.

"You do realize that means you only have a partial alibi, correct?" Jazz asked him.

"It's better to tell the truth than to lie when you didn't commit a crime. I'm sure you'll find evidence to figure out which of those 'Cons did it," Drift reaffirmed.

"Right…," Jazz muttered, not happy with the answers provided. "Go back to the lunchroom and send Swindle in. I will need to get statements from everyone else."

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 79**

Jazz gave a low groan to himself as Bludgeon left the room. After hearing all of the statements from them, all of them had a frame of time in which they were by themselves after Jazz left Scavenger in the lunchroom and could attack Scavenger. If he wanted to lower the list of possible attackers down, he had to figure out exactly when Scavenger was attacked. He got up and headed out of the classroom to the to the second-floor infirmary where Ratchet was treating an unconscious Scavenger, who was bandaged pretty in the back of the head. Sitting in a chair next to Scavenger was Mixmaster, watching over him like a hawk.

"How is he?" Jazz asked Ratchet, getting right next to him.

"Well, he'll live, I can tell you that much, but the strike was a good one. Some pieces of metal from his head pushed inward and almost pierced through the brain module, but only dented it. Still, it was a good blow and he needs to rest for a good while before he's fully okay. I'm not even sure when he'll wake up," he told him.

"Can't you do anything better?" Mixmaster asked, not taking his optics off Scavenger.

"I'm a medic. I make sure my patients live, not make them come out of a coma. Still, his wounds have been patched up and he should wake up in a couple of days, probably," he told them.

"Dammit. I was really hoping I could get answers from him now," Jazz muttered in disappointment. "We got a possible future murderer on our hands and we need to take care of the problem now."

"Well, this is the best I can do for now," Ratchet told him. "We should probably transfer him to his room so that he can be in a secure place and put a couple of watchers on him."

"Right, sounds fine with me, but I need to figure out what to do with my six suspects," Jazz wondered.

"My advice? Quarantine them in one of the room together with some energon and bar it up like we did with Knock Out earlier," Ratchet said, turning to him.

"Yeah, probably best. Makes the most sense," Jazz agreed, turning to make his way out. "Tell me when you move him to a safe place."

"Understand," Ratchet agreed, looking at a datapad. Jazz opened the door and paused. He turned his head back to Mixmaster.

"Hey, Mixmaster." Mixmaster flinch before looking at him.

"What?" he asked.

"We'll figure out who did this," he told him. The chemist glared at him before shaking his head.

"Good," he said simply, looking back to Scavenger. "You can use my room to hold them. I'll stay by Scavenger until he gets better," he told him. Jazz gave a brief nod and lingered briefly before getting out of the room.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 78**

"Why are we all entering Mixmaster's room?" Swindle asked as his small group entered the room that was already opened for them.

"Quarantine," Jazz answered simply, guiding them in. "We place a lot of energon cubes in here, so you don't have to get out for any of that."

"Wait, you mean we all have to stay in this room together and are not allow to leave?" Smokescreen asked him, stunned.

"Unfortunately, yes. You are too much of a risk for everybody's well-being and the six of you together will dissuade you from killing each other," Jazz told them.

"Are you sure you can't just put the Autobots in one room and the killers in another," Drift asked him, glaring at the other three 'Cons.

"I think all of you need to get along. In an environment that's hard to get away with killing anyone unseen, I figured you guys can learn _not_ to be jerks to each other. Last I check, Monobear is the true enemy, not each other," Jazz reminded them.

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Monobear shouted, appearing from out of nowhere, per protocol.

"The insidious beast with the squeaky voice has return," Bludgeon remarked, glaring at their prison warden.

"Ah, that's a wonderful compliment, but last I check, one of you six went and bashed poor Scavenger's head in, which is plain _disgusting_. I mean, he was the perfect kill and you _didn't kill him_. What kind of soldiers are you?"

"The ones who hates you ever so slightly more than each other," Blast Off said, glaring at the bear.

"Oh, that cute, upupupu," the bear chuckled.

"What… was that?" Nightbeat asked, weirded out.

"What?" Monobear asked, confused.

"That chuckled," he specified.

"Oh, what? My upupupup? That's my signature laugh and I'veeeeeee realized I haven't used that once throughout your entire stay here. Time to make up for it! Upupupupu," the bear chuckled, much to the annoyance of everyone around.

"Please, do the universe a favor and kill yourself. You continued existence by itself devalues Cybertron," Blast Off ordered of the bear.

"Hmm, let me think about- _fat chance_!" the bear yelled at the sniper. "I'll let you know I work very hard to ensure the despair of you bastards and I won't let you ruin yet! Not yet, at least," Monobear ended his tirade dreamily.

"Uh, can you leave us alone now?" Smokescreen asked, feeling awkward around it.

"Huh? Oh, fine, just remember! One of you did this," the bear taunted them one more time before scurrying out of the room.

"Oh, I can't wait to get my hands on him," Swindle muttered under his breath.

"Do you mind if I assist you?" Drift asked. "As much as I dislike you and your fellow 'Cons, I have to admit I hate that thing _so much more_."

"My pleasure," Swindle replied with a smile.

"Right… anyway, I'm going to leave and block this door up. Try to get along," Jazz asked of them. After that, Jazz left the room and closed it behind him. The six stood in silence as the sound of Jazz jamming the door close reached their sensors before ending and leaving the six of them alone.

"So…" Swindle murmured, preparing to ask a question, "who gets the berth?"

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 77**

"Geez, this is getting crazy," Skywarp told Laserbeak as he was walking through the hallways. "Not that it wasn't already crazy, but still, why didn't the guy just kill Scavenger? Save us a whole lot of trouble. I'm used to the trials, not this BS."

"You should be a little more glad someone isn't dead again," a voiced told him from behind. Skywarp turned to see the familiar form of Counterpunch, in the midst of injecting himself with something. "It would be a shame if we started killing in a faster and faster rate."

"Hey, you think I give a damn about them?" Skywarp asked him.

"You sure seem like you appreciated Nightbeat's help in clearing you innocent," Counterpunch pointed out.

"And now he's a primary suspect in attacking Scavenger. Look, I know this game and in the end, probably just one person is getting out alive. Everyone realizes that, and even the nicest one around here will be willing to let us die to get out of here if given enough time with no way out," Skywarp told him. "I'm holding off until we confirm that there is no other way of getting out of here from the inside and confirm that Optimus and that damn incompetent trinemate of mine can get us out."

"You don't seem to think very highly of Starscream," Counterpunch noticed, tossing the syringe aside in a trash can.

"Hmph, he may be my trinemate, but that doesn't mean I respect him. Megatron, now that was someone to respect," he told him with glee. "Powerful, cunning, charismatic, and a damn good speech-giver."

"Ah, I agree," Counterpunch approved with a malicious grin. "Really, it's all a matter of waiting for someone else to kill him."

"Huh, you're not too bad," Skywarp complimented, matching his smile before quickly removing it. "That doesn't mean I trust you."

"I don't blame you and I rather not completely trust you either," Counterpunch agreed, turning stoneface. "This is, after all, a game of life and death. We can't afford to completely trust anyone here."

"Exactly, which is why I gotta say later," he ended the conversation suddenly, teleporting out of the hallway. Counterpunch paused and glared at the spot where the seeker was before shrugging it off and heading for his room.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 76.3**

"This is an announcement. It is now 10 p.m. Please rest peacefully," Monobear voiced rang out to everyone as the day started to end. Mixmaster hardly reacted to the voice as he sat by Scavenger in his room, having helped Ratchet move him there earlier. Just out of his view, he heard a scoff, undoubtedly coming from Knock Out. The remaining people draw starws to help determine who would help watch over Scavenger and Knock Out ended up being the loser. "It's almost like he's mocking us," the vain medic complained. Mixmaster barely turned his head to see Knock Out slumped lazily in his seat.

"You don't seem happy," Mixmaster noticed, deciding to try and make small talk with the unfortunate circumstances.

"Nobody is," he told him, turning his head sluggishly to look at him. "Frankly, the ability to be happy in this situation would probably be nothing more than a clear sign of a psychopath, as evident by Wildrider's continued annoyment."

"Yes, that much is true," Mixmaster agreed.

"Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't end up on that serial killer list. I thought for sure he end up as a suspect on that," Knock Out noted, thinking it over before speaking again. "Then again, being a serial killer is something he would more than likely be proud of and would take pride in that rather than be ashamed of it. Okay, I recant my previous statement," Knock Out said with a wave of his hand. "he's more than likely a serial, but unlike a lot of people, he wouldn't be ashamed of it and would try to hide it."

"You're basically saying that we have two serial killers," Mixmaster pointed out.

"Bingo," Knock Out confirmed with a wry smile. "Wildrider is your friendly, homicidal manic while someone is the dark, secretive serial killer who will do many things to ensure it doesn't come out." Mixmaster glared at the medic as he finished his perceptive view of the events with that same smile on his face. "Oh, that's just wonderful. The school sent two serial killers to instruct the students of the future. They must've not been hoping for a bright one," he finished, giving a small chuckle at that.

"You have a funny sense of humor," Mixmaster said through gritted teeth.

"Just something I noticed and it's darkly hilarious. You would think they have better background checks than that," he pointed out.

"They didn't exactly have high standards," Mixmaster told him. "Really, the only thing required from someone is that they are the best at something. In hindsight, they probably should've had higher standards."

"Well, some people are just in such a rush and hurried to do the right thing that they end up making a horrible mistake in the progress. It happens more often than you think," Knock Out told him.

"That ever happened to you?" Mixmaster, glaring at the medic. Surprisingly, the medic didn't answered immediately, only looking at him oddly before thinking it through.

"Yes," he answered simply with a shrugged. "In hindsight, it was perhaps the dumbest thing I could've done, but whatever," he replied in a bored tone, looking away from him, but Mixmaster still noticed the hint of sadness in his voice.

"Is that your secret?" Mixmaster asked bluntly, wanting to know. Knock Out flicked his head over to him and glared malevolently at him. Mixmaster took that as his cue to shut up and retuned his look to Scavenger. He heard Knock Out mumble to himself, but couldn't quite tell what before he heard the medic twisting in his seat and begin recharging. Mixmaster ignored the medic and continued to look at his gestaltmate, hoping this nightmare here will end soon.


	32. Chapter 3: Strange Night

**Day 11**

  **Hours Remaining: 67**

It was morning again and all of the non-suspects, minus Scavenger and Mixmaster, gather in the lunchroom to discuss what to do today. "Well, I checked in on our murder suspects. All of them are fine, although they all complained one way or another about the room being cramp with all of them in it," Jazz informed them.

"They can live with it," Ratchet told him simply. "It's for the safety of everyone else."

"We should visit the archives today," Counterpunch told them. "If we are quick, we can use it twice today."

"You seem determine to use them," Knock Out noticed with a glanced at him.

"I need information about something," Counterpunch told him.

"Well, why don't we go right now?" Nautilator recommended.

"Well, we still need to investigate as much as we can about this place," Perceptor told them. "Could be useful to take advantage of the amount of time we got."

"Well then, are we all in agreement with that?" Jazz asked the group. Everyone gave a sign of agreement. "Alright then, let's go."

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 66.5**

"This is boring," Swindle complained as he read through his datapad on finances for the fifth time since he's been trapped in the room in the chair. "You think he could at least give us a little bit of time to get some more stuff."

"He made it explicit that you could go out no more once the door closes. You should've brought more," Blast Off chastised him, reading one of the many datapads he brought with him.

"I'm just saying, if you're going to keep us trapped here 24/7, we are going to need some entertainment. Heck, even some high-grade could help make the time go faster."

"Will you cease you constant complaining?" Bludgeon asked pausing in the middle of his katas to glare at the merchant.

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm a bit grouchy, considering you're the one who forcefully acquire the berth from us," Swindle sniped back at the metallikato expert.

"I had been recharging in the hollow out shell of a volcano for the past few years. I am not giving up the berth for you," Bludgeon informed him.

"You haven't help us out with rebuilding Cybertron, so why should we give you a bed?" he asked him.

"Swindle, calm down," Smokescreen told him, relaxing in a chair in the room. "You know what happens when we fight with each other."

"Yeah, yeah, conflict begets tragedy and all of the stuff," Swindle brushed him off. "You think I haven't realized that?"

"Oh, I'm sure Vortex and Brawl realized you didn't," Nightbeat told Swindle from the kitchen.

"What was that, detective?" Swindle asked darkly, gritting his teeth together at him.

"Well, you're actions and conflicts did cause their deaths, did they not," Nightbeat pointed out. "Just an observation."

"Why you smug little bastard," Swindle growled, getting up and stomping over there.

"Woah, hold on!" Drift finally intervened, getting in-between them. "If you want to kill someone, kill one of your own kind."

"If you want me to kill one of my kind, I can easily stab you in the spark. You were one of us, were you not," Swindle threaten the swordsman, ignoring the call from Blast Off to get back.

_Crunch!_

"Argh!" Swindle shouted as he toppled backward from Drift's fist. Immediately, Smokescreen, Blast Off, and Nightbeat got in-between the two feuders, keeping them away from away from each other, while Bludgeon just glared at them, his concentration broken.

"Drift, what was that!" Smokescreen yelled at him as Nightbeat kept him back.

"That 'con was running his mouth. Someone had to put him in his place," Drift said coldly.

"You realize fighting is going to get us nowhere," Blast Off chastised him as he took care of Swindle.

"So?" Drift said. "I won't kill him, but the more he mouths off, the more I'll have to put him in his place."

"Screw you!" Swindle yelled at him as he tried to get up only to be met with Blast Off keeping him down.

"No. You are keeping away from him," Blast Off ordered.

"But-"

"No buts. Just ignore him," Blast Off told him.

"A good idea. Maybe we can go the rest without issuing death threats at each other," Nightbeat snidely remarked.

"Do whatever you may, as long as you all cease with your bickering," Bludgeon told them, getting ready to do his katas again. "If you don't refrain from it, I will make sure you will continue to walk _with a limp_." The other five looked at each other before separating and continuing to do their own things in solitude.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 66.3**

"Come on, you bastard. Give me some more information about this school," Jazz growled to the computer as he continue looking through the school archives.

"Problems?" Onslaught asked beside him.

"Can't… find… info," Jazz muttered in contempt at the screen, quickly making his through the files presented to him. "How about you?"

"Both of my remaining men are currently being detained for being possible serial killers. How do you think I feel?" he asked him tensely.

"Ah, yes," Jazz said, slightly embarrassed.

"Right now, they are both in the midst of a serial killer and in danger," Onslaught continued to badger him.

"Hey, if anyone kills anyone in that room, they are going to be found out. They won't take the risk," Jazz tried to comfort him.

"We'll see what happens when he's desperate," Onslaught told him, continuing to glare at him. Jazz, feeling his intense stare, turned away from him to look at the other side of the room. Immediately, he was met with the deep gaze of Counterpunch's optics looking at him. Jazz optics brighten a bit from the suspicious blue 'Con looking at him only for him to turn away back to the computer screen nearly instantly as soon as he realized he was made. Jazz glared at him in confusion before looking back at his screen.

What did he want with him?

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 62.5**

"Here you go," Blurr told Mixmaster as he handed him some cubes of energon. "How's Scavenger?"

"He's doing alright," Mixmaster told him with a small, twitchy smile. "By my estimates, I think he'll wake up tonight."

"Well, I guess that's a relief," Blurr consented as he took a seat.

"Why did you volunteer to help watch Scavenger with me?" he asked him.

"Well, let's just say that my schedule has been freed up a little bit," he told him, taking a seat in the chair on the other side of the bed.

"Huh, what had been keeping you busy previously?" he asked him.

"I've been hanging out Smokescreen, but now as you remember, he's currently a suspect for you gestaltmate's assault," Blurr half-lied to him. "I need someone else to hang out with."

"Huh, makes sense," Mixmaster turning back to Scavenger. "He one of my best customers when it comes to my high-grade."

"I reckoned he would be," Blurr remarked. "Like a bit of that high-grade."

"Yeah. He should've been renamed Ultimate Drinker," Mixmaster snarked.

"Ha! That's nice," Blurr agreed getting back up from the chair. "Do you have any of your home-brewed stuff around?" he asked, looking around.

"Should be some in the cabinets," he told him.

"Thanks. If you don't mind," he said, opening it up and plucking some out, "I'm going to drink on the job."

"Fine with me."

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 60.5**

"What up!" Wildrider greeted the conjunx endures at the tables of mall.

"You again," Chromedome muttered, pausing from his reading to look up to see Wildrider peering at him with a hand-held, gold-plated telescope in ultra-close range. "Why do you have that so close to me? In fact, why do you have that in the first place?"

"Reasons," Wildrider answered simply, withdrawing the telescope from his eyes. "So what are you two doing? Besides being adorable, I mean?"

"Uh, he's showing me some stories to read…." Rewind murmured confused.

"What is that on your hand?" Chromedome asked him as he looked at them. Wildrider paused before looking to see some gold dust on his hand.

"Ah! That's just the telescope. It leaves residue behind whenever it touches something," Wildrider explained with a shrugged, before placing the telescope at a resting position on his shoulder. "I don't understand your problem with it."

"Uh-huh, Rewind, do you want to continue at my room?" Chromedome asked him.

"Sure," Rewind agreed, getting up quickly. "Let's go," he said, and the two departed with an almost jogging pace. Wildrider watched as they left.

"Huh, what did I do?" he muttered before thinking things through. "Perhaps I can spied on some other people," he said to himself as he departed the scene.

* * *

**Hours Remaining: 60**

Blurr kept drinking the cubes of high-grade, on his seventh cube. His senses were already dumbing down to a crawl and he was getting ready to go into a mini-coma. His hands were shaking quite a bit and he had already spilled a few drops on his frame. He laid back in his chair and finished off the high-grade quickly. He let his arm rest over the armrest and to the side of the chair, dropping the empty cube to the floor. He really wanted to recharge, and a second later, he got his wish.

* * *

_**Ibex, Prewar.** _

" _Dammit, this guy is good," Blurr complained to the pit crew. An accident between the racers had occurred between some of the other racers and there was a paused in the race to make sure they were alright and see if they needed to be transferred to the hospital. Thankfully, he had avoided it. Unfortunately, his rival did as well._

" _I'm sure you'll beat this guy," said a pit crew member._

" _I know I will, whoever you are," Blurr brushed him off._

" _It's Piston, sir," he told him._

" _Pisser, right," Blurr said, staring at his rival from afar. "This guy has been on my tail for the whole race. I need to make sure my victory against is not even close. I need to destroy him."_

" _Uh-huh, right. We can do this," Piston cheerily replied._

" _Hmm, maybe we can sabotage him somehow," Blurr murmured._

" _Sabotage, but that's cheating!" Piston said, worried._

" _Do you know how long I've been number one? I can't even afford a chance of losing to him," Blurr reminded him, staring at him. The crew member were checking him over and one of the crew members was looking for some energon to rejuvenate him. At that, inspiration suddenly hit him. "Hey, pissant-"_

" _Piston."_

" _What would happen if someone replaced his energon with high-grade?" Blurr asked._

" _Well, he would react slower than usual, which means, he wouldn't be able to keep up with you," Piston realized._

" _Exactly," Blurr said as he went to a bright blue box and opened it._

" _You celebratory high-grade. You're going to use that against him?"_

" _Yes, I am," Blurr said as he went over to him. The red-and-white athlete turned to his rival with the cube in hand and smiled._

" _Well, you came to wish me luck," he said, eyeing the cube in his hand._

" _Here, some energon for you, Fasttrack. I can't help but notice your pit-crew member floundering about like turbo-fox without a head," he told him, handing the cube to him._

" _Thanks," he said, handing it to a crew member. "Put it in an injector."_

" _You got it sir," a crew-member said, getting it in an injector._

" _Well, see you again right behind me when I cross the finish line," Fasttrack told him as Blurr walked away._

" _Same thing to you," Blurr mentioned offhandedly, heading back to his section._

" _Well, it looked like he took the bait," Piston said._

" _Yes, he did," Blurr affirmed, looking at Fasttrack as the injector pierced his mesh._

" _ATTENTION ALL RACERS! THE RACE WILL START AGAIN IN FIVE CYCLES! GET IN POSITION!" the announcer told them._

" _Well, good luck," Piston said to him._

" _I don't need it," Blurr said, transforming into his alternate mode and made his way to the front of the field. Fasttrack was right beside and slightly behind him. They went around until the remaining racers had all made it to the track._

" _READY… SET… GO!" the announced started and the racers sped ahead, Blurr and Fasttrack both going at nearly the same speed. The sped around the track at high velocity, not stopping._

_It was near the end of the race. One more lap and they would be done. Blurr was getting mad that Fasttrack hadn't slow down once and was almost his equal. He had to dominate him! There was no other way this could end. He had to-_

_Fasttrack was swerving. He had to slow down or he would crash. The high –energon was finally taking effect on that bastard. Soon he will slow down and bow out of the and Blurr's complete and utter dominace would be com-_

_CRASH!_

_Blurr barely made out the sound of him of a wreck happening and looked to see Fasttrack had serve out of control and smashed into the cars behind him, casing a massive chain reaction. The racers started smashing into each other, causing a massive pile-up of them. It was so awe-inspiring that Blurr didn't noticed him crossing the finished line. "BLURR WINS! NOW, CAN WE GET PARAMEDICS TO THE RACETRACK?!" Blurr braked and quickly did a 180 and rushed back to the pile-up. That wasn't supposed to happen! That wasn't supposed to happen!_

_The crash was a mess. A scene of cars twisted and wrecked, many of them caught mid-transformation. Small fires were spread out around the area along with debris from the racers themselves. If there was one good thing about the scene, it was the fact that all of the racers were still alive at the moment._

_Although one was surely going to die soon._

" _Fasttrack!" Blurr yelled, transforming back to robot mode as he reached him. Fasttrack was suffering from many cuts and dents, mostly in robot mode with his feet still stuck together. However, what was killing him was a piece of pipe stuck in chest, causing a hole to the spark. He was dying and his odds of survival was nearly zilch if this had happen in the surgical room, which meant that he undoubtable going to die. "Come on, stay with me," Blur begged him as he looked around for anything to help._

" _B-b-blurr?" Fasttrack gasped, barely able to speak._

" _Fasttrack, stay awake," he told him._

" _You... you did this. Some… something that you… did with my energon. I'm sure," he sputtered out. Coughing energon out of his mouth._

" _It-it-it doesn't matter. Just stay alive!" Blurr ordered, trying to ignore it._

" _You… slagger. I hope… you rust… all… alone…," his voice faded as the light in his optics died out. Blurr was speechless, unable to say anything, as he laid there unmoving. Paramedics had arrived on the scene and was helping everybody else, but it was too late for Fasttrack. Blurr kept staring at his dead body until some paramedics pushed him away and looked at the racer and him. He didn't get a second look at the body as they guided him out of the racetrack to a safe area. He found at later that Fasttrack was pronounced dead in the scene._

_That event forever stayed etched in his head._

* * *

"Wake up!" Mixmaster yelled at him.

"Uh, what?" Blurr said.

"He's woke up," Mixmaster told him.

"Uh?" Blurr said, turning his optics to see Scavenger up and alive staring at him. "Oh, well good."

"It is," Mixmaster said, turning back to his gestaltmate. "How are you?"

"Tired," Scavenger said, sounding like he was in pain. "I want some oil balls."

"Hah, that's alright. I guess I can go get some at the mall for you," Mixmaster said.

"I'll get them," Blurr said, getting up and stretching him limbs. "I need to go and do something."

"That's fine. It's 12:25, so nobody else should be up."

"Alright," he said, setting out.

* * *

**Day 12**

**Hours Remaining: 50**

"Scrap…" Blurr muttered, exiting the candy store. He need to get some monocoins from his storage locker before he could buy some oil balls from him. He quickly strode over to the storage door and quickly opened it. He went and slid the electroID over the device to the Autobot side.

"Welcome, Blurr," the voice greeted, opening. Blurr put his Id up and quickly entered the place before stopping in his track, his mouth wide open.

_DING! DONG!_

"A body has been found. Following a brief investigation period, we will hold a class trial."

There, in the middle of the storage room, face down, with a knife stuck in his back and energon covering it, was **Counterpunch**.

**Abnormal Days**


	33. Chapter 3: Investigating the Backstab (Pt 1: The Storage Rooms)

"How the… what is his body doing in here?" Blurr quickly muttered to himself. Counterpunch was a Decepticon, so he shouldn't have been able to even enter the area. How did he enter the place? "Concentrate, Blurr," he said to himself. "Get the others so you can hurry up and contain the area," he muttered, quickly making his way out of the Autobot storage area and into the courtyard area, quickly running into somebody.

"Who's dead?" Dead End asked him as soon as he stepped out, surprising him.

"Um, it's Counterpunch," he told him, scratching his head worryingly. "What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously.

"Me and Wildrider were both in the book store here," Dead End told him. "He mentioned seeing you enter the storage area and the announcement went off. He's currently getting the others so we can begin our investigation," he finished.

"Oh, uh, okay," Blurr said.

"Who else is with you?" Dead End asked.

"Uh, no one. Why?" he asked. Dead End eyebrow went up at that.

"It takes three to set off a body discovery announcement," he reminded him.

"Your right, it… does," Blurr murmured, thinking it through. "Me discovering it means I'm the third one."

"But who are the first and second?" Dead End asked him. The two stayed silent at that thought as Wildrider yelled at them from above.

"Alright guys. The cavalry is here," he told them and indeed, most of them followed Wildrider to the area. The only one absent were Mixmaster, Scavenger, Jazz, and the serial killer suspects.

"Okay, who was the wise guy who decided to discover a body after midnight," Skywarp complained as he finished the descent down the steps.

"Uh, I did," Blurr confessed.

"So, you, Dead End, and Wildrider discovered it," Hoist asked him.

"Actually, only Blurr found it and activated it," Dead End told them.

"Huh? But that's impossible," Perceptor said. "The rules clearly state that three people have to find the body before the murder can be announced."

_7.1 A murder will be announced once three uninvolved teachers have found the body_

"Oooo, a mystery. Don't you all love mysteries?!" Monobear asked everyone as he came out of nowhere.

"Dude, can you lower your decibels?" Beachcomber asked him, holding the side of his head. "I'm just barely coming out of my recharge state right now."

"Did three non-culprits really found the body?" Hound asked the bear.

"Well, of course. You really don't think I would make a mistake like that, do you?" the bear asked him, insulted.

"Guys, what happen?" Jazz asked, coming down with the six serial killer suspects and a dent on his face.

"Someone's dead. What else?" Ratchet told him.

"It's Counterpunch," Blurr told him.

"Him?" Nightbeat asked, surprised.

"Who are we going to get to investigate this?" Rewind asked.

"That's actually why are brought these guys out of their isolation," Jazz told them.

"Huh?"

"Well, the door has been lock shut and they couldn't open it, therefore, none of them can be the murderer in this case," Jazz informed them.

"So, wait, you want the six of us to head the investigation?" Swindle asked him.

"It makes the most sense," Perceptor agreed. "With alibis as strong as theirs, I wouldn't consider them a suspect in the murder."

"And Blurr found the body, which means he couldn't possibly have done it," Chromedome told them.

"Well, looks like you got everything sorted out," Monobear complimented. "How nice to see you're getting used to this. The file has already been uploaded. Happy hunting," he finished, walking away before turning back to them. "Oh, also, both sides can enter the storage rooms. I figured it's only fair for investigative purposes," he quickly added, heading out. The first thing everybody did after he left was get there electroID out to look at the new file.

**Ammo Gained: Monobear file #3**

**Victim: Counterpunch**

**Location: Autobot Storage Room**

**Cause of Death: Stab wound in the back. Death was nearly instantaneous.**

**Time of Death: 11:30 P.M.**

**Additional notes: Victim had trace amount of high-grade in his systems and has a few dents and scrape marks. Victim obtained multiple knife wounds to the back post-mortem.**

"Everything's here," Swindle immediately pointed out. "Much better than the last case."

"Yes, it does," Nightbeat murmured, looking into the crowd in front of him. One of them had murdered his ally, someone who was wondering about himself and struggling to figure it out. In the end, someone had ended his life before he could figure it out and it was up to him and several others to figure it out.

_Investigation Start_

**Head Detective: Nightbeat**

**Assistant Detectives: Blast Off, Bludgeon, Blurr, Drift, Smokescreen, and Swindle**

"Hmm," Bludgeon murmured.

"Noticed something," Blast Off asked him.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but Counterpunch was a Decepticon, correct?" he asked him.

"Yes he was," Blast Off answered.

"Then why is he located in the _Autobot's_ storage area," Bludgeon asked them.

"Huh," Smokescreen muttered, looking at it, "we should probably look at the area to find answers."

**Ammo Gained: Location of Body**

**Counterpunch, despite being a Decepticon, was located in the Autobot's storage area.**

"To go along with that, I managed to set off the body discovery announcement by myself," Blurr told them. "Monobear confirmed I was the third one to find it."

"Huh...?" Nightbeat wondered to himself. 'Two people found the dead body before him? I wonder why they haven't admitted to it yet...' 

**Ammo Gained: Body Discovery Announcemnt**

**Blurr discover the body by himself, meaning two other people had to have found the body before him.**

"Alright," Nightbeat agreed, turning to Jazz. "Keep everyone together while we search the area," he told him.

"Understand," Jazz agreed with a nod, and Nightbeat turned and entered the storage area. The doors to both side were opened, ready for investigation, and the turret was offline. He, along with the others, went in to the Autobot's storage room.

"Okay, not really much here," Drift said upon first examination of the room.

"Well, we should start with the obvious," Nightbeat said, walking up to the body and staring at the knife in it. "Looks like the probable murder weapon."

"Well, I think even an idiot can see that," Blast Off murmured as he looked at the knife with him. "Swindle, correct me, but this is a kitchen knife, right?"

"It looks like it," Swindle said, getting closer. "Can I take the knife out?" he asked Nightbeat.

"Sure," Nightbeat agreed, and Swindle did so, taking it out and examining it. "Yep, definitely a kitchen knife, although something seems a bit off."

"What makes you say that?" Nightbeat asked him.

"It doesn't match the knives in the kitchen at out dorms, so it has to come from somewhere else," he told him.

"Why would they use a kitchen knife not from the dorms?" Drift asked the group. "I mean, they're pretty easy to hide on yourself. Why do you need a different one?"

"Also," Nightbeat murmured, "the amount of energon on the blood is a bit low for a stabbing." Indeed, the energon was only as far as the blade was in the body.

"That's strange. Wouldn't it get all over the blade? That many stab wounds would mean that he bleed all over. Could the killer had clean the knife up?" Swindle wondered. 

"That sounds too odd for the to do," Drift remarked. "Either way, I'm pretty sure it's the weapon." 

**Ammo Gained: Kitchen Knife**

**Knife found embedded in the body. Does not come from the dorm rooms and lacks the amount of energon on it associated with a stabbing.**

"Speaking of energon, is it me or is there a significant lack of energon in the area?" he asked them. The energon from Counterpunch's body only covered his back and barely pooled at the sides of the body.

"He's been dead for over an hour. There should be a large pool of it around him," Bludgeon agreed.

"So did they clean that too? Seems unnecessary," Swindle commented. "I wonder why." 

"It does seem very strange..." Blast Off agreed. 

**Ammo Gained: Lack of Energon**

**There was a lack of energon found at the body.**

"The monobear file mentioned a few scrapes and dents he had," Blurr said, looking at it and looking back at Counterpunch. "It definitely looks like he got in a fight before he died."

"Agreed," Blast Off said, looking at the body. "Which means the killer and him got in a fight before he died."

"Most likely," Nightbeat agreed.

**Ammo Gained: Signs of a Fight**

**Scraps and dents suggest Counterpunch got in a fight before he died.**

"Okay, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm not seeing any other evidence in this room," Drift said, looking around.

"Yeah, it seems suspiciously empty of evidence," Blast Off agreed, looking around, "especially since he was in a fight."

"Perhaps that in itself is a clue," Nightbeat said, looking around.

"If you think so, go ahead. We need any clue we can get," he told him.

**Ammo Gained: Lack of evidence.**

**Location of body lacked any signs of a fight.**

"So, are we done here," Swindle asked them.

"Yeah, there isn't much to go on here. If we want to find evidence of a killer, we have to retrace Counterpunch's steps to find out how he ended up here," Nightbeat told them.

"I'll go search the bar," Swindle told them.

"Is now the time for a drink?" Drift asked him.

"No, the file mentioned he had traces of high-grade in his system. I think he might've went there for some," Swindle told them.

"Hmm, then I'll go with you," Blast Off told him.

"Right, go and while you're going there, tell Ratchet and Knock Out to come examine the body," Nightbeat told them.

"You got it," Swindle agreed, he and Blast Off heading out.

"Right, what else can we do," Smokescreen asked the group.

"Let's investigate the Decepticon storage area. He was a Decepticons so he had to have use that as well," Drift told them.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Nightbeat agreed as he hurried inside to look at the scene. Inside, they immediately noticed something suspicious.

"Is my olfactory senses screwing up, or do I smell cleaning fluids," Smokescreen asked everybody.

"That's what it is?" Blurr asked, covering his face. "It's overbearing."

"Now why were cleaning supplies used here?" Nightbeat asked to himself.

**Ammo Gained: Smell of Cleaning Fluids.**

**The Decepticons' Storage area had an overwhelming smell of cleaning fluids.**

"I'm not seeing anything else worth noticing here," Nightbeat told the group.

"The killer must have wiped this area down, but why?" Bludgeon asked the group.

"Obviously, something went down here and they hide it, but what?" Blurr asked them.

"We'll have to find more evidence to piece that together. So far, we haven't found much," Drift told them.

"Yes, that is true," Nightbeat agreed, heading out of the room. He could immediately hear Ratchet and Knock Out bickering in the Autobot's storage. "Less than two minutes and they are already fighting," Nightbeat muttered to himself , heading inside to see what they were arguing about.

"What are you doing? Arts-and-Crafts with the victim's blood?" Knock Out asked him.

"Of a sort," Ratchet told him, wagging his finger at him that was stained with wet energon before getting back to it.

"Uh, what are you two complaining about?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Ratchet's playing connect the dots with the victim's knife wounds using the deceased energon," Knock Out told them.

"Ratchet, that's… kind of messed up," Drift told him with disgust.

"Well, we can talk later about it, because I think I may have just found a clue, wouldn't you said Knock Out?" Ratchet asked smugly. Knock Out glared down at the victim distastefully before noticing what Ratchet did.

"What the?! Was the killer sending us a message?" Knock Out asked him.

"Huh?" Nightbeat asked, him and the rest closing in to see what Ratchet did. Indeed, using all but one of the stab wounds, Ratchet connected them to write out the word "PUNCH" on them.

"So, the killer stabbed out a shorten version of the victim's name? What's the point?" Smokescreen asked them.

"I don't know, but it's obviously important somehow," Nightbeat said, looking intensely at the wounds.

**Ammo Gained: Stab Wounds**

**They were placed to spell out 'PUNCH.'**

"To go along with that, I check the victim for his personal effects and his electroID was missing," Knock Out told them.

"It is?" Drift asked him.

"Yes, which meant your killer had some ulterior motive with it, although what, I don't quite know," Knock Out told them.

"How much you want to bet he went to Counterpunch's room?" Ratchet asked him. 

"Quite possibly. Better send some people over to see if the killer visited," Knock Out said to Nightbeat. 

"I'll make sure of it." 

**Ammo Gained: Missing ElectroID**

**Victim was missing his electroID**

"I have a question," Bludgeon announced.

"Shoot," Ratchet told them.

"Why wasn't that stab wound part of the message?" Bludgeon pointed out, the wound being located center of mass.

"Well, that's the killing blow," Ratchet told him.

"It is?" Smokescreen asked.

"Yep. Went straight through his spark. Probably died nearly instantly," Ratchet told them.

"Doesn't that look a bit bigger than the others," Drift asked him.

"Yes, it does, although I don't particularly know why," he told them. "You need to give us some more time to examine the body."

**Ammo Gained: Killing Blow**

**Stab wound went through the victim's spark.**

**Not part of the message.**

**Slightly larger than the other wounds.**

"Alright, we'll leave you to it," Nightbeat agreed, walking out of the doorway.

"Good luck," Ratchet told him as Knock Out and him continued their examination.

"Well, I believe we're done with the storage rooms, aside from Ratchet and Knock Out's examination later," Blurr said, sounding a bit bitter. "I see absolutely nothing to indicate who his killer is."

"Which is why we need to spread our search for any evidence even farther," Nightbeat told him.

"You mean search the mall? In case you haven't noticed, this place is _big_ ," Blurr reminded him.

"Hasn't stopped us before," Nightbeat told them. "I would also like to visit his room as well, see if we can find anything in there to go along with our findings."

"What do you expect to find in there?" Drift asked him.

"A motive," he explained.

"So, we should divide and conquer," Bludgeon told him.

"Correct," Nightbeat agreed.

"We'll also have to ask anybody if they've seen anything," Smokescreen told them.

"I think I could do that," Blurr said. "I know at least a couple of people were up during the night, and they could offer a few more."

"So much to do, so little time," Smokescreen complained.

"Well than, let's get started," Nightbeat told them.


	34. Chapter 3: Investigating the Backstab (PT2: Outside the Storage Area)

"Alright, Blurr, who do we question first?" Nightbeat asked him. Bludgeon and Drift had went off to the first building to see if they could find a way into Counterpunch's room for evidence, leaving Nightbeat, Smokescreen, and Blurr to question any witnesses.

"Dead End and Wildrider would be the best place to start. They were both up and hanging around the mall when I found the body.

"Very well," Nightbeat said, scanning the crowd and finding Dead End and Wildrider loitering around at a table, the former reading a datapad and the latter siting down on the table, kicking his feet and fidgeting. "Let's go see what he know," he told him, heading for the fatalist and the maniac. The two made their way over to the duo, who quickly took noticed of them.

"Let me guest, you want our testimonies," Dead End asked, putting up his datapad.

"Well, you two were both up at the same time as when I found the body," Blurr pointed out.

"That's fair, but I'm afraid I don't have much to tell at least," Dead End told them.

"Really? Why's that?" Nightbeat asked.

"Because, Wildrider and I were both hanging around at the bookstore up on the fifth floor starting at 9:00," he told them.

"Really?" Smokescreen asked them. "How convenient."

"Barring a brief period between around 11:45 to 12:15, we have stayed in this room together. At the previous time frame, Wildrider went to do… something while I stayed here. Don't know what, don't care," he told them.

"Yeah, he's about right. No way either of us could've committed this murder," Wildrider told him, humming along to himself.

**Ammo Gained: Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.**

**Both testify to be with each other all night at the bookstore, barring a brief interval between 11:45 and 12:15.**

"Well, did you see anybody else hanging around?" Smokescreen asked them.

"Well, let's see," Dead End thought to himself. "I think I saw Beachcomber at around 11:15, although what he was doing, I have no idea."

"Beachcomber?" Blurr asked.

"11:15? That's very close to the murder," Nightbeat murmured.

"Well, from what I could see, he was quite… weirded out by something and was holding on to an object, although what, I don't quite know," Dead End told him.

**Ammo Gained: Dead End's Testimony.**

**Saw Beachcomber loitering about the mall at about 11:15.**

"Anything else you want to tell us?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Not that I know of," Dead End told them.

"Nope," Wildrider agreed, barely paying attention to him.

"Alright, then let's go find Beachcomber real quick," Nightbeat said, looking to find him sitting on the steps to the spiral staircase. The three detectives went over to the geologist, who looked like he was on the verge of nodding off.

"Beachcomber?" Nightbeat asked roughly, causing Beachcomber to snap his head up suddenly.

"Wh- what?" he asked them.

"Dead End testifies to having seen you around the mall at around 11:15, very close to the murder. What do you say about that?" he asked him.

"Uh, that's impossible. I was busy trying to sleep at that time, man," Beachcomber told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked him.

"Definitely," Beachcomber said. "I've been in their since 10:00."

**Ammo Gained: Beachcomber's Testimony.**

**Claims to have been asleep in his room since 10:00**

"Anything else," Nightbeat asked him.

"Not that I can think of," Beachcomber told him, getting ready to try to sleep again.

"Alright," Blurr said, the three of them leaving him alone. "Which of them is lying?" Blurr asked Nightbeat.

"At this point, we have no definitive proof, but we'll have to keep our optics open," he told him.

"Hey, you two!" a voiced called out and they turned to see Onslaught and Skywarp together, looking up to the ceiling. The three detectives quickly made their way there.

"What?" he asked.

"Look at the roof," Onslaught told him. "Notice how there's small ledges up there?"

"I do," Nightbeat noticed, looking closely at it. "Very strange design."

"Well, I thought I saw something up there and asked Skywarp to send Laserbeak up there to retrieve it," he told him.

"And he should be coming back now," Skywarp told them, and indeed, Laserbeak was descending towards them at that very moment. He came down and dropped something in Skywarp's outstretched hand. "What the- it's a knife," Skywarp noticed. Indeed, it was a professional-looking knife with some energon stained all-around the blade and grip.

"That's a combat knife," Onslaught immediately noticed. "I remember these being used in the battlefield," he told them.

"And judging by the looks of it, I think we have out murder weapon," Skywarp figured.

"But wait, we already found a knife in the victim's body," Smokescreen told them. "Why the heck are we finding another knife?"

"Wait, what? Could there have been two knives used to murder him," Skywarp asked them.

"He was undoubtedly killed by a single knife wound, so I doubt it," Nightbeat told them.

"Oh, well, here," he said, handing the knife off to them. "See if you can figured out what it's for."

**Ammo Gained: Combat Knife**

**Found hidden on a ledge. Covered in energon.**

"Hmm," Onslaught said to himself.

"What?" Nightbeat asked him.

"I couldn't help but overhear you asking Beachcomber's some question and if you're looking for a place Beachcomber would've been, I suggest the medicine store," Onslaught told them.

"Why?" he asked him.

"On the first day at the mall, I met Beachcomber there buying anti-depressants. A bunch of them. He might've went there again."

**Ammo Gained: Onslaught's Testimony**

**Saw Beachcomber on the first day at the mall buying a bunch of anti-depressants.**

"I'll keep that in mind," Nightbeat told him.

"Alright, I'll let you go," Onslaught said with a nod, turning away to talk to Skywarp.

"Come on. Let's head to the medicinal store," Nightbeat told Blurr and Smokescreen and the three of them head of the steps. They arrived at the third floor and entered the store to look at the shelves.

"Ah, hello," the VI cashier cheerily greeted them as they entered. "Investigating which one of you killed again. Oh, that is so exciting!"

"Where's the anti-depressants?" Blurr asked him, getting straight to the point.

"Not much for talk, are you? Makes since, considering the time limit my boss has put on you," the VI said, thinking it over. "Anyway, they are on the shelves in the center," he pointed out.

"Alright," Smokescreen muttered, heading over there to see a small space where anti-depressants should've been.

"How often do you restock?" Nightbeat asked the cashier.

"We restock every night at around 2:00," he answered.

"There are a lot of anti-depressants missing," Smokescreen told him, coming back from the shelves.

"Yeah, someone bought those not too long ago," he informed him.

**Ammo Gained: Missing Anti-depressants**

**Anti-depressants were missing from the pharmacy.**

"Was this person Beachcomber," Nightbeat asked him.

"I'm sorry, I can't confirm that just like I can't confirmed who bought a syringe after him," the cashier told him.

"Huh?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Oh… you haven't discover that," the cashier muttered nervously.

"No, I haven't. Care to tell us more," Blurr asked with a crack of his hands.

"Uh, sorry, no-can-do. It's against my rules," it told him, glaring at the racer.

**Ammo Gained: Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony**

**Someone came to buy a syringe after whoever bought the anti-depressants.**

"I don't think we're capable of pressing him for any more information," Nightbeat told Blurr.

"Huh, fine," Blurr muttered.

"I'll go check the bar with Swindle and Blast Off. You two figure out where that syringe is," he told him.

"Alright, you got it," Blurr agreed, heading out. "We'll see if I can get a couple of trustworthy people to help out." Nightbeat nodded and headed up to the fourth floor and to the bar. Inside, e could see the familiar VI as a bartender muttering to himself.

"What are you complaining about?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Those two are messing up the kitchen, going through my supplies! My entire stock of energon might be contaminated. It… it… feels so _good_ ," he whispered sensually, causing Nightbeat to really want to get out of there.

"Uh, right, I'll go check that area out," Nightbeat said, quickly walking into the backroom where Blast Off and Swindle were. "Exactly what are you doing?" he asked them.

"Look," Blast Off told him, showing off a kitchen knife that looked exactly like the one in Counterpunch's back.

"Wait, that knife. That means…."

"Yep, the knife from the body came from the bar up here," Swindle finished for him.

"Huh," Nightbeat muttered.

**Ammo Updated: Kitchen Knife**

**Knife found embedded in the body. Does not come from the dorm rooms and lacks the amount of energon on it associated with a stabbing.**

**Confirmed to come from the bar's kitchen.**

"Well, looked like a good hunch," Swindle said.

"What about Counterpunch being here?" Nightbeat asked.

"He hasn't been very forthcoming with information," Blast Off told him, "but he did tell us that he did came by at roughly 11:00 in rough shape."

"Wait, you mean-"

"He had already been in a fight earlier before he died," Swindle said. "To go along with that, he mentioned that Wildrider came by later, although he didn't specify when."

"Just Wildrider?"

"Yep, just him."

**Ammo Gained: Bartender's Testimony**

**Attest to seeing Counterpunch at around 11:00 in rough shape.**

**Saw Wildrider come by after him at an unspecified time.**

"The mystery keeps piling up," Nightbeat muttered.

"Well, since we're done with this area, we should head out," Swindle told them.

"Very well," Blast Off agreed, heading out with the other two following him. The two exit the bar and looked around again.

"So, what do we check out now?" Swindle asked them.

"Is that gold dust," Nightbeat asked, looking at the railing.

"Of course, give you five seconds and you'll find something to investigate," Swindle murmured.

"It is," Nightbeat murmured, rubbing it and getting stuck on his finger. "Now why is it here?" he murmured as he looked down right across from it to the storage area on the ground floor. "Ah, that explains things."

**Ammo Gained: Gold Dust**

**Gold dust was found on the railing in front of the bar.**

"Nightbeat!" Blurr yelled at him from below.

"Yes?" Nightbeat asked.

"We found it and more," he told him.

"Coming down now," Nightbeat confirmed, him and the two Combaticons follow down to the third floor where Blurr, Smokescreen, and Hound was waiting for them at the entrance to the maintenance hall. "In here?" he asked him.

"Yeah, and let me tell you, someone didn't want us to enter this area," he told them.

"Huh? How can you guessed?"

"They barred it using adhesive on the insides. I had to ask Hound to help us break it open," Smokescreen told them.

"It held pretty well. Almost thought I couldn't bust it open," he told them.

**Ammo Gained: Maintenance Hall Door**

**Held shut by adhesive to prevent entrance.**

"I can see why too. Come look inside with me," Blurr told them and they followed him into the hall and walked through the dark, cold halls until they reached the spot that he wanted to show them.

"Oh, scrap, what happen here?" Hound asked as they stared at the wrecked hall. There was scuff marks all around and some small traces around the area along with a shattered syringe in the floor.

"Obviously, some serious fighting went on here," Swindle murmured, looking at the scene.

**Ammo Gained: Maintenance Hall**

**There were signs of a fight in a part of the hall.**

"And that would be the syringe we were looking for," Nightbeat murmured, looking at it, "but it's shattered and missing the needle."

"Looks like it broke in a fight," Blurr remarked. 

**Ammo Gained: Syringe**

**Found broken in the maintenance hall and missing its needle.**

"Want me to collect the pieces and bring them to Hoist?" Blurr asked him.

"Yes, do it immediately. We're on the clock." Blurr gave a shake of his head and quickly collected the pieces in his hand and left the place with Hound and Smokescreen in hand. "Hmm," he muttered, looking around the hall some more.

"Oh, boy. You've noticed something else," Swindle sighed. "Well, go ahead and spill it out."

"This part of the hall," he said, indicating a place away from where the fighting had took place, "has been clean recently."

"Huh?" Swindle murmured, before looking at the area closely. "Wait, you're right. It is. Someone clearly wiped the area down."

"Now why is one part clean and the other isn't?" Blast Off wondered to himself.

**Ammo Gained: Clean Section of Maintenance Hall**

**A part of the maintenance hall was recently cleaned.**

"Well, I don't think anything else is still here, so we might as well leave," Nightbeat told them. "We should probably go check out the medics again and see if they found anything."

"That would be my recommended plan of action as well," Blast Off agreed, and the trio headed out. The went down to the bottom floor to see Jazz by the entrance.

"Oh, hey, you guys doing good?" Jazz asked, slightly rubbing the dent in his head.

"What happened to you?" Swindle asked.

"I tripped in the library today and banged my head on a table," Jazz told them.

"Ah, good," Nightbeat, walking past him and into the storage area. "You best check with the others to see how they're doing."

"Alright, sure," Jazz agreed, heading off out of listening distance.

"Fell on a table? What a bunch of BS," Swindle grumbled.

"I know. Doesn't matter, all the lies he tells don't explain the scratch marks on his knuckles," Nightbeat told them.

"Wait, scratch marks. Than that means…," Blast Off murmured.

"Correct, Jazz has got in a fight today," he told them.

**Ammo Gained: Jazz's wounds.**

**Jazz has wounds that come from a fight.**

The three entered the Autobots' storage area to see Ratchet extracting something from the corpse's fatal wound. "What's that?" Blast Off immediately asked.

"It looks like a needle," he answered.

"A needle?" Nightbeat asked.

"Yes. Now how is it important to you?" Ratchet asked them.

"We found a syringe without the needle. That's probably the missing needle," Nightbeat informed him.

"Ah, well you can have it to put the syringe back together. Just be sure to wipe off the energon from it," he told them, handing it off.

**Ammo Gained: Needle**

**Found inside the fatal wound in the back.  
**

"Anything else?" he asked them.

"Honestly," Knock Out began, "not really. This isn't quite the fantastic kill as it was with Shockwave and Vortex. If it wasn't for the multiple stab wounds postmortem that spelled out 'PUNCH,' I would be content to label this as any other murder that could've happen in pre-war Cybertron. It is a distressingly normal and simple kill."

"I'm afraid I'm in agreement with him. There really isn't much we can do with the body," Ratchet told them.

"Well, can you check out this knife," he said, handing him the combat knife. Ratchet immediately went and compared it to the fatal wound.

"It's a match. That, I believe, makes this the murder weapon, unless something else to contradicts it," Ratchet told them, handing the knife back.

**Ammo Updated: Combat Knife**

**Found hidden on a ledge covered in energon.**

**Confirm to match the fatal wound in the back.**

"Yes, I agree, and what happened after he was killed is certainly proofing to be really interesting," Nightbeat murmured.

"I can't wait to hear about it in the trial," Ratchet said, standing up. "Well, I guess I'll make my leave," he told them, heading out of the room.

"Right, well, Nightbeat, let me tell you one more thing to add to your evidence," Knock Out told him.

"What's that?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Remember the motive. Everyone had a reason to kill, even him." Knock Out nudged his head in the direction of the corpse. "Do take care to remember that," he finished, heading out of the room.

**Ammo Gained: Motive**

**After a certain amount of time had passed, everyone's secret would've been revealed.**

"Well then, let's go find Hoist," Blast Off told the group and the trio headed out of the room. They immediately searched the surrounding area, but couldn't find him.

"Now where is he?" Swindle murmured.

"Where's who?" a voice asked and they turned to see Chromedome and Rewind sitting together at a table.

"Hoist," Swindle answered.

"Ah, he went to the science lab in the first building," Rewind answered for him.

"Hah, thanks for that," Nightbeat thanked.

"You're welcome. I do hope you find the 'Bot's murderer," Chromedome told them before discussing something with Rewind again in hushed tones. The trio agreed and headed to the 1st building and head to the science labs. Inside one, they found Blurr, Hound, Mirage, Perceptor, and Hoist admiring a finished syringe.

"Not bad, Mirage," Hoist complimented. "You really mended it well."

"No problem," he said, acting slightly humble. "You did help me with it."

"Hey, we got your needle," Swindle blurted out to them.

"Ah, you do? Give it here," he beckoned, having his hand outstretch. Nightbeat immediately went and place it in his hand. "Uh, there's energon on it," Hoist awkwardly mentioned.

"Oh, yeah, uh, it was found in the victim's body," Nightbeat informed him.

"Ha, how wonderful to see my questions are getting too much information," Hoist groaned as he began fidgeting with the needle and the syringe, trying to make them connect. Within less than a minute, he put the things back down, glaring at Nightbeat.

"You do realize I can only mend things together if they _match_ ," Hoist chided them.

"Come again?" Nightbeat asked.

"The needle. It doesn't match the syringe," he told them.

"What, but how's that possible?" Blast Off questioned.

"Well, each syringe is capable of modifying itself to fit a certain needle. I used the last needle last used by the device and it didn't fit," Hoist informed them.

"Are you kidding?" Blurr asked in disbelief.

"No, I don't kid about things like this," Hoist told him.

**Ammo Gained: Syringe and Needle Unmatched.**

**The two don't fit each other.**

"Well, that adds another complication," Nightbeat murmured.

"Yes and to go along with that, I don't think this syringe ever had anything in it," Perceptor told them. "It's complete empty of any fluids. Not even any trace amounts of it."

**Ammo Updated: Syringe**

**Found broken in the maintenance hall and missing its needle.**

**Didn't have any substance in it when it was broken.**

"What do we do now?" Blurr asked them.

"Well, I think I know what we can do," Swindle told them.

"What's that?" Nightbeat asked.

"I figured me and Blast Off can try to figure out where the knife come from while you go check out Bludgeon and Drift to see if they have uncovered any new information in Counterpunch's room," Swindle recommended.

"Hmm, that's reasonable," he said, handing the knife to him. "Report back to me your findings," he told them."

"Yeah, yeah, we've been through this before," Swindle blew him off as him and Blast Off walking out of the room. Nightbeat followed and headed for the staircase nearby to descend to the second floor and towards Counterpunch's open door. Inside, he found Bludgeon and Drift reading some files intently, along with Bumblebee.

"What have you found?" he asked them.

"Well, Counterpunch has been stealing a lot of files from the archive," Drift told him, "but somehow, most of them have been corrupted, like someone has been tampering with them."

"Sabotage?" he asked them.

"Unfortunately," Bludgeon agreed. "However, we were able to get some snippets from it, something involving a special medical operation and a mission for someone."

"Who?" Nightbeat asked.

"According for to files, it's for someone named Punch," he informed him.

"Come again?" Nightbeat asked.

"That isn't the weirdest part. The beginning of the uncorrupted part lists him as Punch and the parts after the operation lists him as Counterpunch," Bumblebee explained.

"So, a strange Decepticon operation involving Counterpunch," Nightbeat said out loud to himself.

"I don't think so," Drift said, nervously.

"And why is that?" he asked him.

"The leading person heading up the operation? _Jazz_ ," he told him.

"Jazz?" Nightbeat asked him in shock.

"Yeah, it said it was his idea and he headed up the operation. I check the source of these files and they come straight from the Autobot database," he told him.

"Hmm," Nightbeat hummed to himself, "This is some very strange information."

**Ammo Gained: Counterpunch's Files**

**List an operation that Counterpunch was in that was headed by Jazz.**

"Is everything alright?" a voice asked from the doorway and they turned to see Mixmaster over there.

"Ah, you haven't been anywhere near the crime scene, have you?" Nightbeat asked.

"No, I've been caring over Scavenger. He woke up just a little bit before the body was discover," Mixmaster told him.

"Is there anything you can tell us?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Well, Blurr got hammered at around four and I woke him up when Scavenger woke up," he told him. "And, let's see, oh, Jazz came by as well," he told him.

"When?"

"Oh, around 11:00. He didn't look pretty good. Looked like he had his face bashed in. He came over to check up on Scavenger," he told him.

"He was injured, like he was in a fight?" he asked him.

"Correct. He stuck around until 11:20 and then he went to his room. At the same time, Beachcomber came from the stairs next to his room and entered his room. I didn't see anything, but it looked like he was carrying quite a few things," he told him.

**Ammo Gained: Mixmaster's Testimony**

**Talked to a roughed up Jazz from 11:00 to 11:20.**

**Saw Beachcomber entered his room at a little after 11:20.**

"Hmm, thanks," Nightbeat said. "How's he?"

"He's fine, but a little dizzy. We're thinking of giving him a wheelchair or something to help him stand in the trial," he told him.

"Can't he just sit this one out?" he asked him.

"Nah, Monobear came over after opening Counterpunch's door to inform us that Scavenger had to go to the trial unless he was in dire medical help. As you can tell, he's just fine," he told him.

"Alright, well, I guess I'll check back up at the crime scene," he told him.

"You know, if I were you, I would go check out the groundbridge we got downstairs. Not many people have been using it and if a murderer wanted to, they could use it without being spotted to the groundbridge in the mall," he told him.

"Hmm, good idea," he agreed. "Thanks and hope Scavenger is welled enough to walk to the trial."

"Thanks," he said, leaving back for his room.

"Alright, well," he said, turning back to the occupants in the room, "if you find anything else, do keep me informed." He took his leave and headed down the steps to the first floor and into the groundbridge where he found Nautilator messing around with the controls for it.

"Ah, hey," he said with that deep, booming Megatron voiced that didn't with him at all. "I was, well, looking for some information on who used the groundbridge," he told him.

"Well, it's been used a few times today, but there were a couple of uses from it at 11:20 and at 11:47," he told him.

"Ah, good. That saves me some time from having to look into it," Nightbeat thanked him.

"No problem. Anyway, let me get a groundbridge for the mall for you, since I 'm assuming you're not done with it yet," he told him, clicking a few buttons.

**Ammo Added: Groundbridge usage**

**Used at 11:20 and 11:47.**

The groundbridge opened and Nightbeat went through it and backed to the mall. He quickly made his way to the weapons store and saw Swindle and Blast Off finishing their conversation with him, walking away from him and towards him. "Alright, good news and bad news. The good news is that we figured out who the knife belonged too," Swindle started out.

"And the bad?" he asked.

"It belonged to Counterpunch," Blast Off finished.

"So, Counterpunch was backstabbed with _his own knife_ ," Nightbeat asked them.

"Exactly," Swindle told him.

**Ammo Updated: Combat Knife**

**Found hidden on a ledge. Covered in energon.**

**Confirm to match the fatal wound in the back.**

**Belonged to Counterpunch**

DING! DONG!

"The investigation is over! Everyone head over to the cargo elevator on the first floor for the long-awaited trial!"

"Dammit, do you think we've gathered enough evidence to figured out who did this?" Swindle asked him.

"I guess we'll find out," Blast Off said, walking off. Swindle gave a shake of his head in annoyance.

"Oh, Blast Off. Never change," murmured before glaring at Nightbeat. "Come on, we need to execute a murderer," he told him, walking off. Nightbeat glared at the merchant before following along back to the first floor elevator. When they arrived, they found that everyone had arrived except for a few people.

"Where's Mixmaster and Scavenger?" Bumblebee asked.

"Coming down now!" Mixmaster yelled at him, coming down the steps, leading Scavenger down with interlocking shoulders. Scavenger was also making use of a crutch.

"Oh, come on. You were bashed in the head, not caught in an explosion," Smokescreen chided them.

"He just woke up from a long resting period. He needs to go at it slowly and a crutch is exactly what he needs," Ratchet told him, offering his professional medical opinion.

"Ok, yeah, good point," Smokescreen muttered, looking around. "That everyone?" he asked.

"It is," Onslaught told him.

"Well then, shall we get going?" he asked them.

"Yeah, yeah," Blurr draw out, hitting the button. The cargo elevator doors opened up and the twenty-five of them slowly entered the elevator and Blurr hit the button inside, closing the elevator and sending them deep into the depths of the school. The elevator went down at its unbearably slow speed with its loud clanking sound before reaching the trial room. Inside, both Brawl and Counterpunch's usual place was covered with a portrait of the two of them. Counterpunch had the usually blue, bloody X while Brawl's was in the shape of two fists making an X. Everyone took their place at the at the stands, getting ready to do battle with each other to find the truth.

"Well, looks like you're all here," Monobear cheered. "You all know the rules, so let's get the third trial to figure out who killed Counterpunch under way! Begin!"


	35. Chapter 3: Trial PT 1

**1\. Monobear file #3**

Victim: Counterpunch

Location: Autobot Storage Room

Cause of Death: Stab wound in the back. Death was nearly instantaneous.

Time of Death: 11:30 P.M.

Additional notes: Victim had trace amount of high-grade in his systems and has a few dents and scrape marks. Victim obtained multiple knife wounds to the back post-mortem.

**2\. Location of Body**

Counterpunch, despite being a Decepticon, was located in the Autobot's storage area.

**3\. Body Discovery Announcement**

Blurr discover the body by himself, meaning two other people had to have found the body before him.

**4\. Kitchen Knife**

Knife found embedded in the body. Does not come from the dorm rooms and lacks the amount of energon on it associated with a fatal stabbing.

Confirmed to come from the bar's kitchen.

**5\. Lack of Energon**

There was a lack of energon found at the body.

**6\. Signs of a Fight**

Scraps and dents suggest Counterpunch got in a fight before he died.

**7\. Lack of evidence**

Location of body lacked any signs of a fight.

**8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids**

The Decepticons' Storage area had an overwhelming smell of cleaning fluids.

**9\. Stab Wounds**

They were placed to spell out 'PUNCH.'

**10\. Missing ElectroID**

Victim was missing his electroID.

**11\. Killing Blow**

Stab wound went through the victim's spark.

Not part of the message.

Slightly larger than the other wounds.

**12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.**

Both testify to be with each other all night at the bookstore, barring a brief interval between 11:45 and 12:15.

**13\. Dead End's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber loitering about the mall at about 11:15.

**14\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Claims to have been asleep in his room since 10:00

**15\. Combat Knife**

Found hidden on a ledge. Covered in energon.

Confirm to match the fatal wound in the back.

Belonged to Counterpunch

**16\. Onslaught's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber on the first day at the mall buying a bunch of anti-depressants.

**17\. Missing Anti-depressants**

Anti-depressants were missing from the pharmacy.

**18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony**

Someone came to buy a syringe after whoever bought the anti-depressants.

**19\. Bartender's Testimony**

Attest to seeing Counterpunch at around 11:00 in rough shape.

Saw Wildrider come by after him at an unspecified time.

**20\. Gold Dust**

Gold dust was found on the railing in front of the bar.

**21\. Maintenance Hall Door**

Held shut by adhesive to prevent entrance.

**22\. Maintenance Hall**

There were signs of a fight in a part of the hall.

**23\. Syringe**

Found broken in the maintenance hall and missing its needle.

Didn't have any substance in it when it was broken.

**24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall**

A part of the maintenance hall was recently cleaned.

**25\. Jazz's wounds.**

Jazz has wounds that come from a fight.

**26\. Needle**

Found inside the fatal wound in the back.

**27\. Motive**

After a certain amount of time had passed, everyone's secret would've been revealed.

**28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched**

The two don't fit each other.

**29\. Counterpunch's Files**

List an operation that Counterpunch was in that was headed by Jazz.

**30\. Mixmaster's Testimony**

Talked to a roughed up Jazz from 11:00 to 11:20.

Saw Beachcomber entered his room at a little after 11:20.

**31\. Groundbridge usage**

Used at 11:20 and 11:47.

* * *

_The trial is now in session!_

* * *

"Okay, according to the Monobear file, someone killed Counterpunch at 11:30 P.M.," Onslaught told everyone.

"What exactly was that idiot doing out so late?" Perceptor asked the room.

"That is an excellent question. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that being up past nighttime increases the likelihood of someone shanking you without any witnesses," Skywarp agreed.

"More than likely, he had a hidden agenda of his own," Mirage said, "although what, I don't think we'll ever know now."

"Well, considering how confusing this is, how about we tried reconstructing the victim's movements after our second search through the archive after 9:30," Hoist recommended. "Perhaps that can give us a clue into exactly what he was doing that night."

"That's a good idea," Jazz agreed. "I'll start." 

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available:

Combat Knife

Kitchen Knife

Lack of Energon

Stab Wounds

JAZZ: At 9:30, our second hunt through the archives today ended.

BLURR: At 12:30: I went to the storage rooms and discovered the body…

BLURR: **triggering the body discovery announcement**.

SKYWARP: At 11:30, someone shanked him.

BLUDGEON: **Counterpunch and the killer fought to the death**.

SCAVENGER: At some point, he went for a drink of high-grade…

SCAVENGER: …and somehow **died in the Autobot's storage area**.

SMOKESCREEN: He was stabbed a lot of times…

SMOKESCREEN: … **however, it was in a calculated matter**.

RATCHET: Most of those were **post-mortem** , so...

RATCHET: the killer wanted to desecrate the body on purpose. 

BLUDGEON: Desecration? 

BLUDGEON: How dishonorable of them. 

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's wrong!

Ammo used: Lack of Energon.

* * *

"Wait, Scavenger. I know you were out of it for most of the investigation, but it's very unlikely he died in there," Nightbeat told him.

"Huh? But the file said he died there, didn't it?" Scaveneger asked.

"He was discovered there. That doesn't mean he died there, as everyone who looked at the room can attest," Nightbeat told him. "There wasn't enough energon there from a fatal stabbing."

"Oh, uh, my bad," Scavenger said, a bit flustered, rubbing his head.

"Still, that is an important point," Knock Out pointed out. "If he was placed there after death, then it could be assumed that someone put him there to throw blame onto the Autobots."

"Which meant the killer is probably another Decepticon, correct?" Bumblebee asked him.

"I would hedge my bets on that, yes," Knock Out agreed.

"I may have to agree. An important clue suggest that he might've died in the Deecepticon storage room, correct Nightbeat?" Blast Off asked him.

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear file #3

2\. Location of Body

3\. Body Discovery Announcement

4\. Kitchen Knife

5\. Lack of Energon

6\. Signs of a Fight

7\. Lack of evidence

**8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids**

9\. Stab Wounds

10\. Missing ElectroID

11\. Killing Blow

12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.

13\. Dead End's Testimony

14\. Beachcomber's Testimony

15\. Combat Knife

16\. Onslaught's Testimony

17\. Missing Anti-depressants

18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

19\. Bartender's Testimony

20\. Gold Dust

21\. Maintenance Hall Door

22\. Maintenance Hall

23\. Syringe

24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall

25\. Jazz's wounds.

26\. Needle

27\. Motive

28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched

29\. Counterpunch's Files

30\. Mixmaster's Testimony

31\. Groundbridge usage

* * *

"You mean the cleaning fluids we smelled in the storage area," Nightbeat said.

"Correct. I assume that a Decepticon either lure him in or follow him into the room and attacked when his guard was down," Blast Off told him. "It's just a theory I have, but it's most likely the correct one."

"So, when Counterpunch came into the Decepticon's storage room, he was stabbed to death there, transferred to the Autobots storage room, and the actual crime scene was cleaned up," Mirage stated. 

"The only reason someone would do that is if they were pinning the blame on the Autobots," Beachcomber added. 

"Well, if that's true, then Bludgeon, Swindle, and Blast Off couldn't have done it, as they were locked in Mixmaster's room at the time," Ratchet told them.

"To go along with that, Scavenger has been bed-ridden until after the murder had been performed, so he can't be the killer," Chromedome told them.

"So, who does that leave?" Bumblebee asked.

"Let's see, that leaves Mixmaster, Onslaught, Dead End, Wildrider, Skywarp, Nautilator, and Knock Out," Perceptor told him.

"Correction, me and Wildrider couldn't have done it," Dead End told them.

"Huh?" he asked.

"While we were at the mall of the time of the murder, we stayed in the bookstore on the fifth floor the entire time. We were only separated between 11:45 and 12:15, and Counterpunch was already dead at that time," Dead End told him.

"But wait, they all've either helped us or have other reasons to not kill," Nightbeat told them. "Mixmaster and Onslaught have their gestaltmates while Skywarp recovered the combat knife, Nautilator gave us the groundbridge time, and Knock Out helped Ratchet with the medical examination."

"Then they just played along and told the truth. They were probably arrogant enough to think that if we got all the clues, we still couldn't solve the murder," Drift told him.

"Makes sense to me," Blurr shrugged. 

"Then let me ask another question. If Counterounch was dragged to the Autobot room, how did a Decepticon even get their hands on a Autobot electroID?" Nightbeat asked the room.

"Well, if an Autobot killed him, how did he even get in the Decepticon Storage room in the first place to kill Counterpunch?" Drift asked him. "It's pointless. The killer did this to pin the blame on the Autobot. That's all." 

"No! Look at it critically. No matter how you look at it, on an initial glance,  _neither_ side should be able to commit this crime," Nightbeat told them. "A Autobot couldn't have killed him in the Decepticons' Storage room, as they couldn't enter it and a Decepticon couldn't drag the body to the Autobots' storage area, as they can't enter it either."

"Huh? That can't be," Drift gasped. 

"What the… than who could've possible killed him?" Skywarp asked.

"I'll just go ahead and said that if you think I had anything to do with is death, you're wrong!" Monobear went ahead and told them." This crime was without a doubt carried out by one of you."

"Well, there goes the idea that it was an outside force that killed him," Mirage grumbled.

"But then, how did they pulled this off!" Bumblebee complained with his arms outstretch. "It's literally impossible!"

"There has to be a trick involved in this," Smokescreen murmured. "The question is, _what_?"

"How about, instead of worrying about that now, we moved to a different discussion," Ratchet recommended to then.

"I guess it's better than running in circles over something we can't solve," Nautilator murmured. "What would be a reasonable point of discussion?"

"What about the murder weapon?" Swindle asked. "I feel like we need to establish what exactly it was." 

"Of course, although it's not one that doesn't merit much discussion. It's really easy to figure out just by looking at the murder scene," Drift stated. 

"Hmm? Are you sure?" Blast Off asked him. 

"Of course! Let's start the debate," Drift stated. 

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo available:

Kitchen Knife

Combat Knife

Dead End's Testimony

Onslaught's Testimony

BLURR: Okay, let's asked ourselves this…

BLURR: What killed him?

DRIFT: It had to be the _**kitchen knife**_ , right?

DRIFT: I mean, we found that embedded in his back.

DRIFT: How much more obvious do you have to be?

SKYWARP: Kitchen knife in his back?

SKYWARP: But me and Onsy found a _**combat knife**_ that had energon as well.

SKYWARP: I thought for sure that would be the weapon.

HOIST: There wasn't _**another weapon**_ around, was there?

ONSLAUGHT: None that we know of. 

ONSLAUGHT: That means the possible weapons have to be...

ONSLAUGHT: Either the kitchen knife or the combat knife. 

DRIFT: And it's really easy to figure that out. 

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's correct.

Ammo used: Combat Knife

* * *

"Drift, are you sure the kitchen knife is the weapon?" Nightbeat asked. 

"Of course. It's the only thing that makes sense," Drift stated. 

"But that can't be it. It has to be the combat knife that finished Counterpunch off. This weapon was hidden for a reason," Nightbeat told him. 

"It was also covered with energon," Onslaught stated. "It's obviously been used for stabbing recently." 

"Yeah, and it was hidden on a damn ledge in the mall. Only reason we got it was because I sent Laserbeak up to fetch it," Skywarp added. 

"I think all of that makes it certain it's the weapon," Nightbeat stated. 

**THAT'S THE WRONG WEAPON!**

Drift slammed his fist on the desk. "The knife we found was embedded in Counterpunch's back. That has to be the murder weapon. There is no other exception."

"Drift, I'm telling you the combat knife is the murder weapon!" Nightbeat yelled at him.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" Drift yelled back. "it's hard to argue with a knife stuck in the body."

"Didn't you ever found it too obvious?" Nightbeat asked him. 

"Hey, sometimes, the most obvious answer is the right one," Drift pointed out to him. "Let's see you try to counter my points." 

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available:

Killing Blow

Kitchen Knife

Location of Body

Needle

DRIFT: It has to be the kitchen knife.

DRIFT: It was in his back.

DRIFT: There is no reason to use a different knife.

DRIFT: It makes no sense for them to do that.

…

Development!

…

NIGHTBEAT: What if there was something about the body that proved otherwise?

DRIFT: How could they!

DRIFT The **kitchen knife matched all the wounds**.

DRIFT: Therefore, it has to be the murder weapon.

DRIFT: The **combat knife is just a red herring**.

DRIFT: And you fell for it way too easily. 

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I know that's wrong!

Sword used: Killing Blow

* * *

"Drift, compare the killing blow to the kitchen knife and the combat knife. You will see that it's too big for the kitchen knife, but the combat knife fits perfectly in the wound," Nightbeat told him.

"Huh? It does?" Drift asked him.

"Yes, I confirmed it myself," Ratchet chided him. "The combat knife is the murder weapon. While it's true the kitchen knife was used for all the other stab wounds, only the combat knife fit in the stab wound the killed him."

"Oh, uh, ha-ha, my bad," he said, meekly rubbing his neck, before realizing something. "Wait, why was there two knives involve in the crime?"

"Not that is a good question," Chromedome agreed. "Why would the killer kill him with one knife and then stab him post-mortem with the kitchen knife."

"Obviously to trick us of course," Bumblebee stated. "The kitchen knife was a decoy to make us think it was the murder weapon." 

"But is that the only reason?" Chromedome asked. 

"Hmm?" 

"Chromedome, why are you concern about this?" Rewind asked him. 

"I'm just saying that a lot of the evidence appeared to be faked," Chromedome told him. "Nothing wrong with that." 

"Well, I want to know too. Why was the kitchen knife stuck in his back? I mean, you gain nothing from it," Rewind stated. 

"I think I may have the answer to that," Nightbeat stated. 

"Huh? You do?" 

"Yes, I should. Ratchet showed me himself," Nightbeat stated.

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear file #3

2\. Location of Body

3\. Body Discovery Announcement

4\. Kitchen Knife

5\. Lack of Energon

6\. Signs of a Fight

7\. Lack of evidence

8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids

**9\. Stab Wounds**

10\. Missing ElectroID

11\. Killing Blow

12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.

13\. Dead End's Testimony

14\. Beachcomber's Testimony

15\. Combat Knife

16\. Onslaught's Testimony

17\. Missing Anti-depressants

18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

19\. Bartender's Testimony

20\. Gold Dust

21\. Maintenance Hall Door

22\. Maintenance Hall

23\. Syringe

24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall

25\. Jazz's wounds.

26\. Needle

27\. Motive

28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched

29\. Counterpunch's Files

30\. Mixmaster's Testimony

31\. Groundbridge usage

* * *

"They wanted to send a message," Nightbeat told him.

"They did?" Chromedome asked him.

"Yes, I figured it out myself. They wrote a shorten version of Counterpunch's name. Just 'punch," Ratchet explained.

"Now why would they do that?" Rewind asked them.

"Well, they were sending a message. Obviously it relates to that," Bumblebee stated. "But what could that possibly be." 

"Are we even sure the killer done it?" Dead End asked. 

"Huh? Why would it be anyone else?" 

"Just pointing out the possibilities. It seems odd for the killer to leave clues. Nightbeat, what do you think of this?" 

"Hmm?" Nightbeat hummed. 

"Who do you think did it. Could've have been the killer? Why would the killer do this anyway?" Dead End asked him and Nightbeat had a niggling suspicion judging by how he's talking that he had his own idea. 

Nightbeat thought this through. Why did the killer do this? Would they have done this? 

* * *

_Logic Dive!_

Question #1: Who used the Combat knife?

a. The killer

b. Counterpunch

c. Someone else

…

**a. the killer**

…

Question #2: Did the killer used the kitchen knife?

a. Yes

b. No

…

**b. No**

…

Question #3: Who used the kitchen knife?

a. Counterpunch

b. Monobear

c. Someone else

…

**c. Someone else**

…

NIGHTBEAT: That's it!

* * *

"Slag, we've been on the wrong track this whole time," Nightbeat cursed.

"Hmm?" Dead End wondered, sounding slightly satisfied. 

"We've been under the illusion that the killer had to use both knives, but examining it, it's clear that _someone else_ stabbed Counterpunch's corpse with the kitchen knife."

"What? Is there any proof?" Skywarp asked

"There's a rather obvious one," Dead End remarked. "Surely you know what it is, Nightbeat." 

* * *

_Present evidence!_

1\. Monobear file #3

2\. Location of Body

**3\. Body Discovery Announcement**

4\. Kitchen Knife

5\. Lack of Energon

6\. Signs of a Fight

7\. Lack of evidence

8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids

9\. Stab Wounds

10\. Missing ElectroID

11\. Killing Blow

12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.

13\. Dead End's Testimony

14\. Beachcomber's Testimony

15\. Combat Knife

16\. Onslaught's Testimony

17\. Missing Anti-depressants

18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

19\. Bartender's Testimony

20\. Gold Dust

21\. Maintenance Hall Door

22\. Maintenance Hall

23\. Syringe

24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall

25\. Jazz's wounds.

26\. Needle

27\. Motive

28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched

29\. Counterpunch's Files

30\. Mixmaster's Testimony

31\. Groundbridge usage

* * *

"Remember the body discovery announcement? At least two other people discovered him before Blurr. Who's to say that one of them didn't decide to have fun with the corpse?" he asked them.

"If that's true, then who did that?" Knock Out asked him.

"We haven't even prove that tone of the additional people who found the body yet was the one who placed the message. It could still be the killer," Drift stated. 

"No, I think so. I actually have one suspect in mind who could've desecrated the body," Nightbeat stated. 

"You do? Who is it?" Drift asked. 

"Thinking it through, there is only one person that I can think of that did it," Nightbeat told him.

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~Brawl~~

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~Counterpunch~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~


	36. Chapter 3: Trial PT 2

**1\. Monobear file #3**

Victim: Counterpunch

Location: Autobot Storage Room

Cause of Death: Stab wound in the back. Death was nearly instantaneous.

Time of Death: 11:30 P.M.

Additional notes: Victim had trace amount of high-grade in his systems and has a few dents and scrape marks. Victim obtained multiple knife wounds to the back post-mortem.

**2\. Location of Body**

Counterpunch, despite being a Decepticon, was located in the Autobot's storage area.

**3\. Body Discovery Announcement**

Blurr discover the body by himself, meaning two other people had to have found the body before him.

**4\. Kitchen Knife**

Knife found embedded in the body. Does not come from the dorm rooms and lacks the amount of energon on it associated with a fatal stabbing.

Confirmed to come from the bar's kitchen.

**5\. Lack of Energon**

There was a lack of energon found at the body.

**6\. Signs of a Fight**

Scraps and dents suggest Counterpunch got in a fight before he died.

**7\. Lack of evidence**

Location of body lacked any signs of a fight.

**8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids**

The Decepticons' Storage area had an overwhelming smell of cleaning fluids.

**9\. Stab Wounds**

They were placed to spell out 'PUNCH.'

**10\. Missing ElectroID**

Victim was missing his electroID.

**11\. Killing Blow**

Stab wound went through the victim's spark.

Not part of the message.

Slightly larger than the other wounds.

**12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.**

Both testify to be with each other all night at the bookstore, barring a brief interval between 11:45 and 12:15.

**13\. Dead End's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber loitering about the mall at about 11:15.

**14\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Claims to have been asleep in his room since 10:00

**15\. Combat Knife**

Found hidden on a ledge. Covered in energon.

Confirm to match the fatal wound in the back.

Belonged to Counterpunch

**16\. Onslaught's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber on the first day at the mall buying a bunch of anti-depressants.

**17\. Missing Anti-depressants**

Anti-depressants were missing from the pharmacy.

**18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony**

Someone came to buy a syringe after whoever bought the anti-depressants.

**19\. Bartender's Testimony**

Attest to seeing Counterpunch at around 11:00 in rough shape.

Saw Wildrider come by after him at an unspecified time.

**20\. Gold Dust**

Gold dust was found on the railing in front of the bar.

**21\. Maintenance Hall Door**

Held shut by adhesive to prevent entrance.

**22\. Maintenance Hall**

There were signs of a fight in a part of the hall.

**23\. Syringe**

Found broken in the maintenance hall and missing its needle.

Didn't have any substance in it when it was broken.

**24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall**

A part of the maintenance hall was recently cleaned.

**25\. Jazz's wounds.**

Jazz has wounds that come from a fight.

**26\. Needle**

Found inside the fatal wound in the back.

**27\. Motive**

After a certain amount of time had passed, everyone's secret would've been revealed.

**28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched**

The two don't fit each other.

**29\. Counterpunch's Files**

List an operation that Counterpunch was in that was headed by Jazz.

**30\. Mixmaster's Testimony**

Talked to a roughed up Jazz from 11:00 to 11:20.

Saw Beachcomber entered his room at a little after 11:20.

**31\. Groundbridge usage**

Used at 11:20 and 11:47.

* * *

_The trial is now in session!_

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~Brawl~~

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~Counterpunch~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

**Wildrider**

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~

* * *

"Wildrider," Nightbeat said, glaring at him, "could you please tell everyone why you decided to desecrate a corpse?"

"Huh?" Wildrider asked.

"Him! That makes… actually that makes perfect sense. Why do I sound surprised?" Knock Out asked himself.

"Got any proof?" Wildrider asked him, amused. "I won't let you make an accusation without proof." 

"Indeed, you'll need hard evidence before accusing him of desecrating a body... although it wouldn't be the first time," Dead End sighed in annoyance. 

"Oh, come on, Deady. You know it's part of my charm," Wildrider cheered. 

"Ugh, please rebuke him," Dead End begged. 

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo available:

Bartender’s Testimony

Gold Dust

Maintenance Hall

Kitchen Knife

Dead End’s Testimony

WILDRIDER: So, you’re saying **I desecrated Counterpunch’s body?**

WILDRIDER: Why the frag you’re saying that!

DEAD END: Because you’ve **desecrated them before.**

WILDRIDER: Aside from that!

REWIND: Well, no offense, but you have an affinity for criminal acts.

REWIND: It isn’t a big leap into thinking _**you’re the one who did it.**_

WILDRIDER: And?

WILDRIDER: That doesn’t **prove a damn thing**!

KNOCK OUT: It doesn’t matter.

KNOCK OUT: You are the one who probably desecrated him.

BLURR: Not to mention you’re **fucking crazy.**

BUMBLEBEE: Understatement.

WILDRIDER: But there’s **no traces of me having been there, right?**

WILDRIDER: Or **anywhere else,** really.

WILDRIDER: So this is all pointless.

DEAD END: You’re just asking for evidence to contradict you now.

DEAD END: I believe you’ve said enough now for Nightbeat to do so.

WILDRIDER: Oh really…?

* * *

"The gold dust that we found in front of the bar should be enough," Nightbeat told him. "The only thing that could come from is that telescope that you own, for some reason."

"That gold flakes of Wildrider's telescope does come off easily. It is entirely possible that came from his telescope," Chromedome remarked. 

"Alright, so, I was in front of the bar. So what?" he asked him. "And my telescope is awesome, thank you. Why would I not use it?" 

"Why you carry a telescope is irrelevant. That's where the kitchen knife is from! That's what matters," Nightbeat argued.

"Wildrider, does he really have to explain it to you?" Dead End asked, bored. "Or are you just screwing with him?"

"I want to know what other evidence he has for me," Wildrider told him. "Besides, what's so special about my telescope being there?"

* * *

_Why is it significant that Wildrider's telescope was there?_

It proves he was at the mall.

The telescope was aimed at the storage area.

It proves he went out.

It shows that he is careless

…

**The telescope was aimed at the storage area.**

* * *

"That telescope of yours was aimed at the storage area, right where Counterpunch's body was found," he told him. "Which means, you had to be the one who descreated the body and-"

**I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE** **!**

"Gmph, not bad, but that's still isn't enough," Wildrider told him with a smug smirk. "Last I check, even if did discovered the body, at least one other person was out that night as well."

"You mean the other person who found the body," Nightbeat clarified.

"Exactly. You can yell and shout as loud as you want, but as long as that person is unaccounted for, you can't say I did it," Wildrider told him.

"As much as I hate to say it, he has a point," Perceptor said. "As long as we don't know who that other person was, or even if Wildrider actually found the body, we can't blame him for desecrating the body and sending us the message."

"Better luck next time," Wildrider told him happily.

"Oh no you don't. I know you did it," Nightbeat yelled at him.

"Oh, really now. Well, let's see you prove it," Wildrider taunted him.

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available:

Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

Gold dust

Kitchen Knife

Bartender's Testimony

Combat Knife

WILDRIDER: In case you haven't noticed…

WILDRIDER: Nothing directly links me to the crime scene.

WILDRIDER: Even if I did go there…

WILDRIDER: …at least one other person could've done it.

WLDRIDER: All of this means that…

WILDRIDER: …you've got absolutely nothing.

…

Development!

…

NIGHTBEAT: But you had the opportunity…

NIGHTBEAT: Add that with something else and it becomes clear…

NIGHTBEAT: …you're the only one who could've done it

WILDRIDER: That's impossible!

WILDRIDER: There was **nothing to directly link me there**.

WILDRIDER: I may have pointed my telescope there…

WILDRIDER: …but it **was well after the crime was committed**.

WILDRIDER: What could I have seen?

WILDRIDER: Speaking of being seen…

WILDRIDER: **… nobody saw me.**

WILDRIDER: Which means you're using nothing but baseless claims!

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's wrong!

Ammo used: Bartender's Testimony.

* * *

"While it's true none of our fellow teachers saw you, someone else did see you last night," Nightbeat told him.

"Huh, but who else saw me?" Wildrider asked him.

"Isn't it obvious? The bartender did," Nightbeat told him.

"Oh, yeahhhhhh…" Wildrider muttered. "That fragger..." 

"And he saw no one else that night aside from Counterpunch at 11:00. Therefore, the only person who could've taken the knife from there was you!" he told him.

**THERE'S ONE MORE!**

"Nighty, in case you didn't know, you just said that Counterpunch was there as well, which means that he could've taken it as well," Wildrider told him.

"Uh, no, he couldn't," Swindle butted in.

"Uh, hey, I'm arguing with him! I'm giving a rebuttal. You don't talk during my rebuttal," Wildrider complained.

"And in about five seconds, he'll refute you claim," Swindle told him.

"Huh, you know what, screw Nightbeat! You're annoying the scrap out of me so you prove me wrong!"

"Huh?" Swindle asked, shocked.

"Let's go glitch!"

* * *

 

_Cross Swords Battle!_

_Swindle vs. Wildrider_

Swords Available:

Kitchen Knife

Combat Knife

Bartender's Testimony

Missing electroID

Gold Dust

WILDRIDER: Counterpunch needed protection for himself.

WILDRIDER: Physical, not fragging.

WILDRIDER: Considering the motive...

WILDRIDER: It's impossible not to blame him.

WILDRIDER: He decided to get a knife for protection.

WILDRIDER: That knife ended up being used against him...

WILDRIDER: ... to stab out a message on his back.

WILDRIDER: Don't you love irony?

...

DEVELOPMENT!

...

SWINDLE: But, uh, are we talking about the right knife?

WILDRIDER: Right knife?

WILDRIDER: So you admit it?

WILDRIDER: **Since Counterpunch lacked protection at the bar.** **..**

WILDRIDER: ... **he got protection**.

WILDRIDER: Such a shame it got used against him.

WILDRIDER: Well, for him, not me.

* * *

SWINDLE: I'm slashing that down!

Sword used: Combat knife.

* * *

"Me and Blast Off went to the weapons store to see who bought the combat knife and we figured out that it belonged to Counterpunch!" Swindle told him. Wildrider paused and thought that through before suddenly getting a surprised look on his face.

"Slag!" he yelled out.

"Ah, so you see why that argument of yours doesn't work," Nightbeat told him.

"Of course he does," Blast Off said. "Since Counterpunch owned that knife, why would he even steal a kitchen knife from the bar?"

"How do you like that, glitch?" Swindle smugly mimicked.

"Why you stupid, short slagger," Wildrider complained

"Wildrider, I believe it's time for you to give up and tell them you desecrated the body," Dead End told him in a utterly bored tone.

"Ugh, fine!" Wildrider agreed. "Yeah, I did it."

"Great, now why did you do it?" Bumblebee asked him.

"Isn't it obvious?" Wildrider asked them. "I did it for fun."

"For fun?" Mirage asked.

"Well duh, what else?" Wildrider told them.

"Is that all you did?" Bludgeon asked him.

"Huh, I would like to tell you all everything, but I don't think you deserve it," he told them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ratchet asked him.

"Huh, if you knew his secret, you might know what's going on," he told them.

"Wait, you know his secret?" Nautilator asked. "How's that possible?"

"Oh come one? Isn't that obvious?" he asked them.

* * *

_Present Evidence!_

1\. Monobear file #3

2\. Location of Body

3\. Body Discovery Announcement

4\. Kitchen Knife

5\. Lack of Energon

6\. Signs of a Fight

7\. Lack of evidence

8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids

9\. Stab Wounds

10\. Missing ElectroID

11\. Killing Blow

12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.

13\. Dead End's Testimony

14\. Beachcomber's Testimony

15\. Combat Knife

16\. Onslaught's Testimony

17\. Missing Anti-depressants

18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

19\. Bartender's Testimony

20\. Gold Dust

21\. Maintenance Hall Door

22\. Maintenance Hall

23\. Syringe

24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall

25\. Jazz's wounds.

26\. Needle

**27\. Motive**

28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched

29\. Counterpunch's Files

30\. Mixmaster's Testimony

31\. Groundbridge usage

* * *

"You're talking about the datafiles, correct?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Bingo!" Wildrider cheered. "After some investigating in the archives, I figured out exactly what it was and that it belonged to Counterpunch."

"What is it?" Hound asked him.

"What, you think I'm just gonna tell you?" Wildrider asked them. "Please, I have higher standards than that."

"If you had any standards to begin with, you wouldn't have desecrated his corpse," Chromedome pointed out.

"Hey, I'm not the guy who killed someone this time, so stop lecturing me," he complained to them. "Besides, I've already given you enough clues."

"Clues? What exactly do you mean?" Ratchet asked.

"Can you at least give us a hint?" Beachcomber asked

"Hmm, a hint?" he asked. "Well, a guess I can give you one. It should help you a little bit."

"Spit it out, already," Onslaught ordered.

"Well, fine. I'll tell you. You listening?" he asked them.

"When Onslaught said 'spit it out,' he means _now_ ," Blast Off told him.

"Right, one thing that I did, besides giving you the message, was _moving the body from the Decepticon's area to the Autobot's area_ ," he told them.

"What! But how's that possible?" Mixmaster asked. "You're not an Autobot."

"Hmm, quite the mystery," Wildrider told them, rubbing it in. "How could I, a Decepticon, get into the Autobot's area?"

"Before we figure that out, you are the one who cleaned the Decepticon's storage area, correct?" Blast Off asked.

"Five points for you, Blasty!" the manic congratulated.

"Is there any reason for that?" he asked him.

"Nah! I just wanted to show Counterpunch for what he was," Wildrider told them.

"What is that supposed to me?" Scavenger asked him.

"Hmm, what could it mean? Oh, I don't know, how about you figure it out!" Wildrider told them.

"Ugh, fine. Let's figure out what exactly Wildrider used to get in the Autobot's room," Drift told everyone.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available:

Location of Body

Missing ElectoID

Motive

Stab Wounds

Monobear File #3

DRIFT: Somehow, Wildrider entered the Autobot's storage area.

DRIFT: The question is how?

WILDRIDER: Oh, this is going to be fun.

HOUND: Shut it, sicko!

CHROMEDOME _ **: Maybe he jammed the door so that it wouldn't completely shut.**_

WILDRIDER: Maybe.

ONSLAUGHT: Can't you be quiet.

SCAVENGER: Maybe he _**asked Monobear to open it**_?

WILDRIDER: Could be.

BLAST OFF: Hush, you.

BLAST OFF: The adults are talking here.

DEAD END: Knowing Wildrider, it's something simple.

DEAD END: So let me guess…

DEAD END: … _ **you used someone else's electroID**_.

WILDRIDER: Oh, Deady. That's so you.

DEAD END: Wildrider, do shut up.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's it!

Ammo used: Missing ElectoID

* * *

"Dead End, I think you're on to something," Nightbeat said.

"Figures," Dead End muttered. "No one knows Wildrider more than me, unfortunately." 

"Oh, you wound me, Deady!" Wildrider melodramatic pronounced. 

"Good." 

"As I recall, Counterpunch's electroID was missing when we found him and searching his room revealed that it wasn't there," Nightbeat told everyone.

"Huh? But he's a Decepticon," Skywarp told him. "Hell, I've seen him use his to open up the Decepticon's area before."

"If you use Counterpunch's electroID on the Autobot door, the logical outcome is the user being eradicated by the automated turret," Perceptor stated. "Therefore, it is impossible to use Counterpunch's ID." 

"Yes, but logically, this is the only other way Wildrider could open the Autobot's area, considering that we all still have ours," Nightbeat told everyone.

"That doesn't change the fact that he was one of my kind," Skywarp told him.

"Yes, he was, but could he have actually been one of both kinds?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Huh?" Skywarp asked, confused.

"Wildrider, answer honestly, did you use Counterpunch's electroID to open the Autobot's storage area?" he asked the maniac.

"Of course not. It's riduclous," Skywarp argued.

Wildrider stared at him, with the most cheeky smile possible, before answering, "Yep, I sure did! I tested it out and it works on _both_ doors."

"What!" Skywarp shouted in disbelief. "But he was loyal to Megatron. I fragging know he was."

"Believe me, you don't know anything about Counterpunch," Wildrider taunted him.

"Shut it, you!" Skywarp shouted at him.

"Hmpf," Wildrider huffed with a slight raise of his shoulders. "Some people can't handle the truth."

"So, what was he? An Autobot or a Decepticon?" Hoist asked the room.

"Come on, if he could open both doors, what does that make him?" Wildrider asked him.

* * *

_What was Counterpunch?_

An Autobot.

A Decepticon.

Both.

Neither.

…

**Both**

* * *

"He was both, wasn't he?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Exactly," Wildrider confirmed.

"But, how's that possible?" Bludgeon asked them.

"I'm not quite sure, but some of the pieces about that guy is coming together," Nightbeat said. "Although, if we want to know the full story, I say we ask the person who knows the most about him."

"The person who knows the most about him?" Hound asked.

"Yes, a search through Counterpunch's room someone knew a lot more about him than they initially let on," he told them.

"Well, spit it out! Who is it," Skywarp asked him.

* * *

_Make an acquisition!_

Jazz

~~Brawl~~

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~Counterpunch~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~


	37. Chapter 3: Trial PT 3

**1\. Monobear file #3**

Victim: Counterpunch

Location: Autobot Storage Room

Cause of Death: Stab wound in the back. Death was nearly instantaneous.

Time of Death: 11:30 P.M.

Additional notes: Victim had trace amount of high-grade in his systems and has a few dents and scrape marks. Victim obtained multiple knife wounds to the back post-mortem.

**2\. Location of Body**

Counterpunch, despite being a Decepticon, was located in the Autobot's storage area.

**3\. Body Discovery Announcement**

Blurr discover the body by himself, meaning two other people had to have found the body before him.

**4\. Kitchen Knife**

Knife found embedded in the body. Does not come from the dorm rooms and lacks the amount of energon on it associated with a fatal stabbing.

Confirmed to come from the bar's kitchen.

**5\. Lack of Energon**

There was a lack of energon found at the body.

**6\. Signs of a Fight**

Scraps and dents suggest Counterpunch got in a fight before he died.

**7\. Lack of evidence**

Location of body lacked any signs of a fight.

**8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids**

The Decepticons' Storage area had an overwhelming smell of cleaning fluids.

**9\. Stab Wounds**

They were placed to spell out 'PUNCH.'

**10\. Missing ElectroID**

Victim was missing his electroID.

**11\. Killing Blow**

Stab wound went through the victim's spark.

Not part of the message.

Slightly larger than the other wounds.

**12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.**

Both testify to be with each other all night at the bookstore, barring a brief interval between 11:45 and 12:15.

**13\. Dead End's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber loitering about the mall at about 11:15.

**14\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Claims to have been asleep in his room since 10:00

**15\. Combat Knife**

Found hidden on a ledge. Covered in energon.

Confirm to match the fatal wound in the back.

Belonged to Counterpunch

**16\. Onslaught's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber on the first day at the mall buying a bunch of anti-depressants.

**17\. Missing Anti-depressants**

Anti-depressants were missing from the pharmacy.

**18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony**

Someone came to buy a syringe after whoever bought the anti-depressants.

**19\. Bartender's Testimony**

Attest to seeing Counterpunch at around 11:00 in rough shape.

Saw Wildrider come by after him at an unspecified time.

**20\. Gold Dust**

Gold dust was found on the railing in front of the bar.

**21\. Maintenance Hall Door**

Held shut by adhesive to prevent entrance.

**22\. Maintenance Hall**

There were signs of a fight in a part of the hall.

**23\. Syringe**

Found broken in the maintenance hall and missing its needle.

Didn't have any substance in it when it was broken.

**24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall**

A part of the maintenance hall was recently cleaned.

**25\. Jazz's wounds.**

Jazz has wounds that come from a fight.

**26\. Needle**

Found inside the fatal wound in the back.

**27\. Motive**

After a certain amount of time had passed, everyone's secret would've been revealed.

**28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched**

The two don't fit each other.

**29\. Counterpunch's Files**

List an operation that Counterpunch was in that was headed by Jazz.

**30\. Mixmaster's Testimony**

Talked to a roughed up Jazz from 11:00 to 11:20.

Saw Beachcomber entered his room at a little after 11:20.

**31\. Groundbridge usage**

Used at 11:20 and 11:47.

* * *

_The trial is now in session!_

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

**Jazz**

~~Brawl~~

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~Counterpunch~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~

* * *

"Jazz, how and why do you know Counterpunch?" Nightbeat accused.

"Huh?" Jazz asked startled. "What do you mean by that?" 

"You're saying Jazz know Counterpunch somehow?" Ratchet asked. "But that seems very unlikely." 

"It's more likely than you think," Drift told Ratchet. 

"Huh? You know something I don't now, Drift?" Ratchet asked him. 

"Sure did. We found it in Counterpunch's room, right Nightbeat?" Drift asked Nightbeat. 

* * *

Present Evidence!

1\. Monobear file #3

2\. Location of Body

3\. Body Discovery Announcement

4\. Kitchen Knife

5\. Lack of Energon

6\. Signs of a Fight

7\. Lack of evidence

8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids

9\. Stab Wounds

10\. Missing ElectroID

11\. Killing Blow

12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.

13\. Dead End's Testimony

14\. Beachcomber's Testimony

15\. Combat Knife

16\. Onslaught's Testimony

17\. Missing Anti-depressants

18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

19\. Bartender's Testimony

20\. Gold Dust

21\. Maintenance Hall Door

22\. Maintenance Hall

23\. Syringe

24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall

25\. Jazz's wounds.

26\. Needle

27\. Motive

28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched

**29\. Counterpunch's Files**

30\. Mixmaster's Testimony

31\. Groundbridge usage

* * *

"These files that we found in Counterpunch's room links him to an operation in which he was the subject and Jazz was the one heading it. Drift confirmed that those files came directly from the Autobot's database," Nightbeat told him.

"What? How did those files get to the public?" Jazz wondered to himself.

"So you do know something, Jazz?" Ratchet asked him. 

"Huh? Well yeah, but this security breach is far more worrisome," Jazz said, concentrating on our problems.

"Jazz, you do realize you're under suspicion of murder here," Nightbeat told him. "We can worry about security leaks later."

"Yes, of course, but a breach like that shouldn't have happened. Those files were top secret," he kept complaining to himself. "I'm going to have to complain to Red Alert when we get out."

"Perhaps you can fill us in on all of it," Bludgeon advised him. "While the files were useful, they were corrupted partially, rendering a lot of it unreadable."

"Oh, yeah, my bad," Wildrider told him. "I might've sorta accidently broke it a little bit when I checked that place out a little bit."

"You floundering fool!" Bludgeon insulted him.

"Enough! Let's concentrate on what really matters," Onslaught told them, glaring at the spy. "So, Jazz, will you explain the files to us."

"Huh, well, I guess I see no point not too, although it might be a bit hard to swallow," the spy told them.

"A bit hard to swallow?" Nightbeat asked.

"Yes, you see, you were very wrong in saying that Counterpunch was both an Autobot and a Decepticon. I can confirmed that Counterpunch was very much a Decepticon," Jazz told him.

"Huh?" Bumblebee asked. "Then, how did his electroID worked for both areas?"

"Tell me, Nightbeat, did you noticed anything odd about those files?" he asked him.

"Anything odd?" Nightbeat asked. He quickly wondered about it. 'Anything odd? Well….'

* * *

_What was odd about the files?_

How Counterpunch was refer to.

When the operation took place.

How it was taken.

Jazz's role in all of it.

…

**How Counterpunch was refer to.**

* * *

"You mean how Counterpunch was refer to, correct?" Nightbeat asked him. "The first half refer to him as Punch while the second-half refer to him as Counterpunch."

"That would be correct," Jazz confirmed to him.

"So? What's the point of that?" Skywarp asked him. "Punch? Counterpunch? There's no difference." 

"Punch? Oh no, don't tell me that was him," Beachcomber said to himself out loud.

"Huh? What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just let him continued," Beachcomber immediately said, trying to forget about it.

"No way, that was way too suspicious," Bumblebee shut him down. 

"We'll worry about that later. We can't afford to get side-track right now," Perceptor told Bumblebee. "Now, Jazz, what was the purpose of this operation?" 

"Well, this operation had one goal in mind," Jazz said, getting everybody's attention again, "to create the perfect mole for us to infiltrate the Decepticons."

"What? Will you quit calling him a mole? He isn't one!" Skywarp yelled at him.

"I think it's time to face the facts, Skywarp. He was more than likely a mole," Onslaught told him.

"Actually, Skywarp is right. He wasn't a mole," Jazz told him.

"What?!"

"You see, we came to the conclusion that the perfect way to get a mole in the Decepticons was by making the mole not realize he was one," Jazz told him.

"Huh?" Mirage asked. "How's that possible. To be a mole, you have to give information to the enemy. How could he not realized he was one?"

"It sounds impossible," Skywarp agreed with Mirage. "How did your scientists do this?" 

"It's quite simple really. Now Nightbeat, can you tell everyone why Counterpunch was referred to that way?" Jazz asked him.

* * *

_Why was Counterpunch refer to with two different names?_

Punch was easier to type.

He asked for that.

It was his stripper name.

They were two different people.

…

**They were two different people.**

* * *

"Because… _he was two different people_ ," Nightbeat realized, barely holding on to his stand.

"What?!" Skywarp yelled. 

"That's impossible!" Perceptor yelled. 

"Those are some sick scientist you got there, Jazz," Smokescreen remarked. 

"Please, do explain this," Hoist insisted. "This seems impossible." 

"You see, in order to make the perfect mole, we had to create someone else first. We essentially created another personality and put it in his head. The original, Punch, would be able to see everything while Counterpunch was mostly a puppet for Punch to infiltrate the Decepticons," he told them.

"What the frag is this pseudoscience?" Perceptor asked, slamming his fist into the stand. "To insert another personality into someone is nonsense!"

"That's impossible," Skywarp said. "he- he- shouldn't he have realized that?" Skywarp asked him.

"Well, there was one thing that constantly gave it away. Tell me, could anyone answer that?" he asked.

"Something… well, this is basically a Cybertronian-made Dissociative Identity Disorder, so he should've experience something with that," Nightbeat wondered to himself.

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram!_

_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

_/ L/ _/ _/ K/ _/ _/ _/ _/

B/ L/ A/ _/ K/ _/ _/ _/ _/

B/ L/ A/ C/ K/ O/ _/ _/ _/

B/ L/ A/ C/ K/ O/ U/ T/ S/

…

**BLACKOUTS**

NIGHTBEAT: That's it!

* * *

"He would've suffered from blackouts, correct?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Oh, scrap!" Blurr shouted

"What?" Nightbeat asked him.

"That night after the second trial, I met Counterpunch in the newly opened mall and he mentioned to me that he had been suffering from blackouts," Blurr told him.

"And that was Punch fighting for control with Counterpunch," Chromedome stated. 

"And that's it. Counterpunch was a Decepticon while Punch was an Autobot," Jazz told them.

"Now just a second. Something doesn't make sense here. If Punch was the original, why didn't they take Counterpunch out after that happened," Swindle asked him.

At that, Jazz looked rather forlorn and looked at the ground. "You see, we've might've let the other personality grow too strong. Near the end of the war, Counterpunch unintentionally struggled with him for dominance. In the end, he won the battle and was the new dominant one," he answered for them.

"But, he was still suffering from blackouts," Blurr reminded him. "He had to take medicine to counteract them." 

"Yes, he was. That meant Punch never gave up, even until they both died," Jazz told them.

"So, wait, you're saying he never knew about Punch?" Blast Off asked.

"Correct, as far as I know. He probably thought he was dealing with a defective memory core or something along those lines," Jazz told them.

"Although, judging from the fact that the files were found in his room, he was starting to learn the unsettling truth behind his existence," Hoist said.

"Yeah, I guess he was," Jazz agreed.

"Is that why you got in a fight with him?" Nightbeat asked him. Before Jazz could replied, he added: "And don't say you haven't been in a fight. The scratches on your knuckles say otherwise." Jazz paused and thought it through before speaking again.

"Alright, fine. I fought with him. Yes, I know that makes me look bad, but I assure you, I left him alive.

"Why should we believe you?" Scavenger asked.

"Because I give him a damn good alibi," Mixmaster muttered.

"Huh?"

"You were out at the time, Scavenger, but me and him engaged in a conversation that lasted until 11:20."

"That's still enough to get to the mall and kill Counterpunch," Bumblebee pointed out.

"Yes, that's true, but I honestly don't think that he did it," he argued.

"I'm just pointing out the facts. I would love more than anything for him to be innocent."

"There's two ways of reaching the mall," Perceptor said. "Going through the library or going through the groundbridge over there."

"Couldn't he just used the groundbridge," Chromedome asked.

"No, I don't think so," Nightbeat said.

"Hh?"

"Oh, yeah, I get it. It couldn't be him," Nautilator said.

"I'm officially lost," Chromedome said to the two of them.

"We found that thing, remember?" Nautilator asked.

* * *

Present Evidence!

1\. Monobear file #3

2\. Location of Body

3\. Body Discovery Announcement

4\. Kitchen Knife

5\. Lack of Energon

6\. Signs of a Fight

7\. Lack of evidence

8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids

9\. Stab Wounds

10\. Missing ElectroID

11\. Killing Blow

12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.

13\. Dead End's Testimony

14\. Beachcomber's Testimony

15\. Combat Knife

16\. Onslaught's Testimony

17\. Missing Anti-depressants

18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

19\. Bartender's Testimony

20\. Gold Dust

21\. Maintenance Hall Door

22\. Maintenance Hall

23\. Syringe

24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall

25\. Jazz's wounds.

26\. Needle

27\. Motive

28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched

29\. Counterpunch's Files

30\. Mixmaster's Testimony

**31\. Groundbridge usage**

* * *

"The groundbridge log," Nightbeat answered.

"Yeah, that. It says it was used at 11:20 and 11:47," he told them.

"Wait, it was used twice before the murder and after the murder?" Scavenger asked.

"Yes, it was, which means that has to be the killer!" Nautilator told everyone.

"I'm inclined to agree with him," Nightbeat said. "It's too much of a coincidence."

"Well then, good to see I'm innocent," Jazz said.

"Yes, although I have a couple of other questions for you," he told him.

"Shoot."

"Why did you fight?" Nightbeat asked. 

"I wasn't looking for one. I was in the maintenance hall, about to head to the basement, when Counterpunch called for me. He asked a couple of cryptic questions about his existence before attacking me," Jazz told them. 

"That seems fishy," Blurr remarked. 

"It's the truth," Jazz insisted. 

"One more thing. Since you fought in the maintenance hall, did you clean up after yourself?" he asked him.

"Actually, I didn't clean up after the fight and I'm sure he didn't either. We fought at around 10:45," he answered for him. "I was sure the night crew would just clean up after us like normal." 

"Hmm, thanks for that as that just proves what I've been suspecting for a while now," he told him.

"And what's that?" Rewind asked.

"The murder didn't occur in the storage rooms, but in the **maintenance hall** ," he told them.

"In there?" Chromedome asked.

"Yes, something about that area has made me suspicious about it and that is-"

* * *

Present Evidence!

1\. Monobear file #3

2\. Location of Body

3\. Body Discovery Announcement

4\. Kitchen Knife

5\. Lack of Energon

6\. Signs of a Fight

7\. Lack of evidence

8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids

9\. Stab Wounds

10\. Missing ElectroID

11\. Killing Blow

12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.

13\. Dead End's Testimony

14\. Beachcomber's Testimony

15\. Combat Knife

16\. Onslaught's Testimony

17\. Missing Anti-depressants

18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

19\. Bartender's Testimony

20\. Gold Dust

21\. Maintenance Hall Door

22\. Maintenance Hall

23\. Syringe

**24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall**

25\. Jazz's wounds.

26\. Needle

27\. Motive

28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched

29\. Counterpunch's Files

30\. Mixmaster's Testimony

31\. Groundbridge usage

* * *

"-the section of the maintenance hall that was cleaned," he told them.

"A section of the maintenance hall was cleaned?" Jazz asked.

"Yes and considering another part of the area was covered in energon that looked like a fist-fight took place there, I'm guessing the unclean part is yours."

"Couldn't Monobear had just started cleaning when we found the body?" Rewind asked.

"Nope! I only engage the cleaning command when all you bastards were asleep," he told them.

"Dead End and Wildrider were both up until the body was found," Perceptor murmured.

"Yep, which means we have foiled that dastardly killer's plan," Wildrider bragged.

"I swear, I just want to go over there and smacked you," Dead End murmured to himself in a murderous tone.

"Yes, this means the murder had to have happen at-"

**HOLD IT!**

Perceptor slammed his fist on his podium. "Look, I'm not a criminal expert, but you need more than that to prove otherwise. Who's to say that Counterpunch didn't tried to clean the area before giving up part-way through it. Who's to say that Monobear isn't just screwing with us again? Who's to say that Jazz isn't lying?"

"The murder had to occur there," Nightbeat told him.

"Well then, prove it to me," Perceptor commanded.

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available:

Syringe

Needle

Maintenance Hall Door

Groundbridge usage

PERCEPTOR: The fact that you think the murder…

PERCEPTOR: …happened in the maintenance halls is absurd.

PERCEPTOR: There are so many other explanations…

PERCEPTOR: …for why the area is clean…

PERCEPTOR: and yet you think it's because the murderer…

PERCEPTOR: …was covering the crime scene.

…

Development

…

NIGHTBEAT: I don't make claims lightly Perceptor…

NIGHTBEAT: …especially when there's evidence to back me up.

PERCEPTOR: You said there is evidence…

PERCEPTOR: …and yet you **offer nothing to show that.**

PERCEPTOR: The hallway was messed up because…

PERCEPTOR: … **Jazz fought with Counterpunch in there**.

PERCEPTOR: You're continued belief that the murder happen there is laughable.

...

Development

...

NIGHTBEAT: You're missing the obvious, Perceptor.

NIGHTBEAT: It's all about access.

PERCEPTOR: Access?

PERCEPTOR: What does that have to do with anything?

PERCEPTOR: All it takes is to **enter the room** …

PERCEPTOR: look around the place…

PERCEPTOR: …and realize the murder **couldn't have happen there**.

PERCEPTOR: Now who's missing the obvious?

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I'll cut that to pieces.

Sword Used: Maintenance Hall Door

* * *

"It's still you, Perceptor, as you said that all it takes to prove that murder didn't happen there is to open the door, but that's the very problem. The door was sealed shut with adhesive," Nightbeat told him.

"It was?!" Perceptor asked.

"Yep. Me, Smokescreen, and Blurr had to bust the door down together to open it," Hound told him.

"Well then, do you see now?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Yes, I do," Perceptor said with a huff. "Only the murderer would want to keep us from seeing that area."

"Calm down, genius. We all make mistakes sometime," Skywarp told him.

"Some more than other," Perceptor said.

"Right," Dead End muttered. "Since Counterpunch was killed there, let's discussed why he was there."

"Well, more than likely he was searching for a way out," Mixmaster guessed.

"To be honest, I didn't find any evidence for that," Nightbeat told them.

"Well then, let's call the only other person up that night," Dead End told him.

"The other person?" Nightbeat asked.

"Yes, you know who," Dead End told him. "Judging from his comments during this trial, he at least partially knew the victim as well."

"The other person up that night," Nightbeat murmured. "Yes, it could be useful to get more useful from him."

"May I ask exactly who that person?" Perceptor asked.

" _The other person,_ " Nightbeat thought to himself. " _He claims he wasn't up late that night, but a lot of evidence points to him being up well into the night and his outbursts at the trial showed he knew more about than he let on. That person… he could have the knowledge to show who the killer is._ "

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~Brawl~~

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~Counterpunch~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As anybody who has play Danganronpa can tell you, this chapter is basically my love letter to case 2 of the original Danganronpa, although I just love twisting it on it's head. This is a very fun chapter to do. My guess, only three more chapters before Chapter 3 is done for good. See you there.


	38. Chapter 3: Trial PT 4

  **1\. Monobear file #3**

Victim: Counterpunch

Location: Autobot Storage Room

Cause of Death: Stab wound in the back. Death was nearly instantaneous.

Time of Death: 11:30 P.M.

Additional notes: Victim had trace amount of high-grade in his systems and has a few dents and scrape marks. Victim obtained multiple knife wounds to the back post-mortem.

**2\. Location of Body**

Counterpunch, despite being a Decepticon, was located in the Autobot's storage area.

**3\. Body Discovery Announcement**

Blurr discover the body by himself, meaning two other people had to have found the body before him.

**4\. Kitchen Knife**

Knife found embedded in the body. Does not come from the dorm rooms and lacks the amount of energon on it associated with a fatal stabbing.

Confirmed to come from the bar's kitchen.

**5\. Lack of Energon**

There was a lack of energon found at the body.

**6\. Signs of a Fight**

Scraps and dents suggest Counterpunch got in a fight before he died.

**7\. Lack of evidence**

Location of body lacked any signs of a fight.

**8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids**

The Decepticons' Storage area had an overwhelming smell of cleaning fluids.

**9\. Stab Wounds**

They were placed to spell out 'PUNCH.'

**10\. Missing ElectroID**

Victim was missing his electroID.

**11\. Killing Blow**

Stab wound went through the victim's spark.

Not part of the message.

Slightly larger than the other wounds.

**12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.**

Both testify to be with each other all night at the bookstore, barring a brief interval between 11:45 and 12:15.

**13\. Dead End's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber loitering about the mall at about 11:15.

**14\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Claims to have been asleep in his room since 10:00

**15\. Combat Knife**

Found hidden on a ledge. Covered in energon.

Confirm to match the fatal wound in the back.

Belonged to Counterpunch

**16\. Onslaught's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber on the first day at the mall buying a bunch of anti-depressants.

**17\. Missing Anti-depressants**

Anti-depressants were missing from the pharmacy.

**18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony**

Someone came to buy a syringe after whoever bought the anti-depressants.

**19\. Bartender's Testimony**

Attest to seeing Counterpunch at around 11:00 in rough shape.

Saw Wildrider come by after him at an unspecified time.

**20\. Gold Dust**

Gold dust was found on the railing in front of the bar.

**21\. Maintenance Hall Door**

Held shut by adhesive to prevent entrance.

**22\. Maintenance Hall**

There were signs of a fight in a part of the hall.

**23\. Syringe**

Found broken in the maintenance hall and missing its needle.

Didn't have any substance in it when it was broken.

**24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall**

A part of the maintenance hall was recently cleaned.

**25\. Jazz's wounds.**

Jazz has wounds that come from a fight.

**26\. Needle**

Found inside the fatal wound in the back.

**27\. Motive**

After a certain amount of time had passed, everyone's secret would've been revealed.

**28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched**

The two don't fit each other.

**29\. Counterpunch's Files**

List an operation that Counterpunch was in that was headed by Jazz.

**30\. Mixmaster's Testimony**

Talked to a roughed up Jazz from 11:00 to 11:20.

Saw Beachcomber entered his room at a little after 11:20.

**31\. Groundbridge usage**

Used at 11:20 and 11:47.

* * *

_The trial is now in session!_

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~Brawl~~

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

_~~Counterpunch~~ _

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

**Beachcomber**

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~_Soundwave_ ~~

* * *

"Beachcomber, what can you tell us about last night?" Nightbeat accused.

"What? But I wasn't up that night," Beachcomber told him.

"May I remind you that I saw you last night," Dead End told him.

"You're lying!" Beachcomber yelled at him.

"Beachcomber, we're not blaming you for the murder," Nightbeat told him, glaring at him. "Keeping up resistance is going to make us suspect you a lot more than we do now."

"Hey, look, I didn't do anything, alright. Don't blame me for killing him," Beachcomber told them.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available:

Dead End's Testimony

Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

Mixmaster's Testimony

Beachcomber's Testimony

Bartender's Testimony

DEAD END: Tonight, Beachcomber was up with **me and Wildrider**.

BEACHCOMBER: Yes, that's correct, but I didn't kill anyone.

BEACHCOMBER: I just, uh, had to do something.

SKYWARP: _**Like driving a knife in Counterpunch's back**_.

BEACHCOMBER: What? NO!

ONSLAUGHT: Calm down, Skywarp.

ONSLAUGHT: **We haven't proved he's done anything wrong**.

BLAST OFF: Still, he had the opportunity.

BLAST OFF: **He could've made use of the groundbridge and killed Counterpunch**.

PERCEPTOR: Yes, but we have no direct evidence that ties him to the crime.

PERCEPTOR: We might as well blame everyone else here.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's wrong!

Ammo used: Mixmaster's Testimony

* * *

"Blast Off, remember earlier when Mixmaster said he saw Jazz at the time of the groundbridge's usage?" Nightbeat asked him.

"Yes, I do, although I don't see how that's relevant," Blast Off replied.

"Well, at the same time he was talking with Jazz, he saw Beachcomber enter his room at the time as well," Nightbeat told him.

"That is true," Mixmaster agreed. "I didn't pay much attention, but I do know that the time frame meant he couldn't have been the one to use the groundbridge."

"Ah, I see. Then he probably isn't the murderer," Blast Off noticed. "Although it doesn't explain why he was there."

"I just went to get a couple of things. Nothing really," Beachcomber murmured. "I don't know anything. Honestly."

"Beachcomber, don't make us have to wring the info from you," Dead End told him, growing bored. "You are a terrible liar and just needs to spill out the truth."

"What? Oh, come on. What would I want that I would want to hide from you guys?" Beachcomber asked them.

"You're not going to tell us?" Bumblebee asked him. 

"No, I'm not, because I haven't done anything wrong," Beachcomber insisted. "Let me explain." 

* * *

 

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available:

Onslaught’s Testimony

Dead End’s Testimony

Pharmacy Cashier’s Testimony

Wildrider and Dead End’s Alibi

Mixmaster’s Testimony

BEACHCOMBER: Look, I was just **out for a walk** …

BEACHCOMBER: That’s it.

REWIND: That’s obviously a lie.

BEACHCOMBER: It isn’t!

PERCEPTOR: We can’t simply take your words at face value we know…

PERCEPTOR: You need to provide evidence.

JAZZ: We’re tired of lies, Beachcomber.

BEACHCOMBER: **I’m not lying**!

MIRAGE: He was spotted at the mall, right?

MIRAGE: Maybe he was looking **_to buy_** something?

REWIND: Or look for items **_to kill_** with.

BEACHCOMBER: My alibi has already been confirmed!

CHROMEDOME: He’s right, Rewind.

CHROMEDOME: No need for pointless accusations.

REWIND: …

* * *

 NIGHTBEAT: I agree! 

Ammo used: Missing Anti-depressants. 

* * *

"Mirage, you're right. There were some missing anti-depressants in the pharmacy. My guess is that's what Beachcomber was after," Nightbeat told him.

"Can't blame him. Being here would drive anyone to getting those," Mirage remarked. 

**I'M NOT!**

"There's no proof I went over to get anti-depressants, right? What makes you even think I grabbed any?" Beachcomber asked him. 

"Beachcomber, don't make me do this. This will be over quickly if you challenge me," Nightbeat stated. 

"Well, I'm challenging you!" 

* * *

 

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available: 

Missing Anti-depresants

Pharmacy Cashier's testimony 

Onslaught's Testimony 

Dead End's Testimony

BEACHCOMBER: I never went to the pharmacy. 

BEACHCOMBER: Therefore, I never bought the anti-depressants. 

BEACHCOMBER: Which means you're looking for someone else. 

BEACHCOMBER: I'm not even one to use them. 

... 

Development! 

...

NIGHTBEAT: Don't you suffer from PTSD from Shockwave's torture?

NIGHTBEAT: You seem like the prime candidate to buy anti-depressants. 

BEACHCOMBER: T-That's irrelevent! 

BEACHCOMBER: I have to move on from it somehow. 

BEACHCOMBER: I can't let it rule over me forever. 

BEACHCOMBER: That's why I have to get through this myself. 

...

Development! 

...

NIGHTBEAT: But is that true? 

NIGHTBEAT: I have it on good authority that you're using them. 

BEACHCOMBER: Well, you're wrong. 

BEACHCOMBER: **No one knows** about me very well.  

BEACHCOMBER: I guess it's my fault. 

BEACHCOMBER: I've been withdrawn because of my PTSD. 

BEACHCOMBER: I'm sorry for going against you on this. 

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I'm sorry...

Ammo used: Onslaught's Testimony

* * *

"Beachcomber, Onslaught has seen you buy anti-depressants a couple of days ago," Nightbeat said to him. 

"What the- How did you know-" he paused before getting himself together again. "I mean, that's wrong. You have no proof I went there."

"But, I remember seeing you on the first day in the mall getting plenty of anti-depressants. It can't be a coincidence," Onslaught said.

"If Beachcomber was there on the first night, then it's highly probably he went there tonight as well," Dead End remarked. 

"So, Beachcomber, will you admit to it?" Nightbeat asked him. 

"Uh, well, you see," Beachcomber stammered, unable to speak. "That-that is all wrong! I didn't go there! They just forgot to restock, that's it."

"Beachcomber, calm do-"

"No, I didn't go there!"

* * *

_Machine Gun Talk Battle_

Ammo Available:

Onslaught's Testimony

Motive

Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

SHIELD X6

BEACHCOMBER: I didn't go there!

SHIELD X5

BEACHCOMBER: Why do you think I did something wrong…

SHIELD X4

BEACHCOMBER: Lies!

SHIELD X3

BEACHCOMBER: I didn't do anything wrong…

SHIELD X2

BEACHCOMBER: It's all false!

SHIELD X1

BEACHCOMBER: Why do you need to hurt me like this…?

_Shield Destroyed!_

BEACHCOMBER: _**Nothing proves the anti-depressants were there!**_

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's where you're wrong!

Ammo used: Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

* * *

"That can't be right! The pharmacy cashier mentioned that someone came and bought anti-depressants today. Now tell me, how is that possible if they didn't refill them!" Nightbeat destroyed his argument.

_"How often do you restock?" Nightbeat asked the cashier._

_"We restock every night at around 2:00," he answered._

_"There are a lot of anti-depressants missing," Smokescreen told him, coming back from the shelves._

_"Yeah, someone bought those not too long ago," he informed him._

"Uh- but that- that can't be right. Why do you…." Beachcomber blubbered.

"Seriously, why is he trying to hide the fact that he buys a lot of anti-depressants?" Mirage asked the group.

"I have a passing suspicion," Onslaught murmured.

"I think I got one as well," Nightbeat agreed.

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram!_

_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

_/ D/ D/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

A/ D/ D/ I/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

A/ D/ D/ I/ C/ T/ _/ _/ _/

A/ D/ D/ I/ C/ T/ I/ O/ N/

**ADDICTION**

NIGHTBEAT: That's it!

* * *

"You're an addict, aren't you," Nightbeat stated. Beachcomber paused, silent, holding onto his stand.

"T-t-that's not true," he murmured.

"Beachcomber," Onslaught said, looking down next to him. Beachcomber flinched and looked away from him. "I remember you asking me on the first day here for tips. Well, here's another one. _Tell the truth_." Beachcomber flinched again as Onslaught's word reached him. He mulled it over, trying to figure out what to say, although he already knew.

"Yeah," he murmured, barely able to get it out, "I'm an addict."

"If it makes you feel better, we'll talk about it after the trial, but you have to tell us about Counterpunch," Onslaught gently told him.

"Yeah, I guess I can do that," Beachcomber agreed. He paused to recompose himself before speaking again." I, uh, had to go the pharmacy to get more anti-depressants. I went to get some and I met Counterpunch there at about 11:10. He was searching for something but he was not having a good time.

" _Dammit, where is it?" Counterpunch complained to himself, searching through the shelves. He was crawling through them, unable to find anything he was looking for. Beachcomber stared at him for a little while, wondering if he enter or run away. "Where are the damn neuroboosters?"_

" _Uh, sir, you already bought them earlier," the cashier said, looking at him oddly. Counterpunch whipped to him and glared at him gravely._

" _Come again?" he asked him._

" _You bought them already today. Jeez, you must me the Ultimate Forgetter," the cashier mocked him._

" _Shut it!" he yelled at him, getting ready to tear the cashier apart._

" _Well, can you hurry up? I've got another customer here," he said, jerking his finger to the entrance where Beachcomber was. Counterpunch turned to glare at the little 'Bot._

" _You…," he growled at him._

" _Uh, is there a reason you're sounding like your threatening me?" he asked him._

" _It's something you don't realize," he cryptically told him._

" _Uh-huh, yeah," Beachcomber said, taking a couple of steps back._

" _What do you need?" he asked him. Beachcomber paused, thinking the question through and realizing that he was offering to help him._

" _Uh, anti-depressants," he told him._

" _Hmph, don't blame you. Not everyone can handle the situation that we are involved in," Counterpunch murmured, heading into the aisle and grabbing a phial of it. "This what you're looking for?"_

" _More." Counterpunch raised an eyebrow before grabbing a couple more "More." Counterpunch gave him a look of disbelief before asking a question._

" _Do you just want all of them?" he asked him._

" _Uh, yeah, that will work," Beachcomber agreed. Counterpunch gather all of the phials in his arm and took them to the counter and laid them all down. The cashier bagged them and gave a price._

" _100 monocoins," he told them._

" _Yeah, here," Beachcomber said, walking to the counter and placing the large sum on the counter. The cashier took it and gave the bag to him._

" _Have a despairing day," he told the two of them with a wide smile._

" _Uh, okay," he murmured, walking back to the entrance. He could hear the footsteps of Counterpunch following behind him and he wanted to just run the heck away._

" _Beachcomber, may I talk to you," he said and Beachcomber could hear a strange tone to it._

" _Uh, what? I really need to get back to my room," he told him._

" _There's a friend of yours that I want to talk about," he told him. Beachcomber just kept walking, wanting to get out._

" _Who?"_

" _Punch."_

_That caused Beachcomber to immediately stop and turned to him. "Punch?" he asked. "That's… someone I haven't talked to in a long time."_

" _I know," Counterpunch murmured, looking down at him. "He misses you."_

" _He does?" Beachcomber asked._

" _Yes, which is why I must apologize for what I am going to do in a few minutes," he said to him and that left Beachcomber confused._

" _What do you mean?" he asked him._

" _Punch will die tonight," he told him and that left Beachcomber startled, holding on to his bag tighter._

" _What's that supposed to mean?" he asked him._

" _You don't have to worry about it. I figured you have considered him dead for so long, I'm just making it official tonight," he said, walking past him and heading down the stairs. "Take care."_

" _Wait! What's that supposed to mean!" he asked him, getting closer._

" _Do I have to repeat it? He dies tonight. That's all you need to know. You can mourn for him officially now," he told him, heading down the spiral steps until he can't be seen anymore. Beachcomber thought about his words, shaking at the thought of it, holding his bag. Punch was somewhere alive and he couldn't help him as he would be killed. This can't be happening. It can't._

_He bounded up the steps, wanting to get away from Counterpunch._

Everyone stood silent as Beachcomber finished his tale of what happened between him and Counterpunch at the shop. It was a startling one, for sure.

"So, Counterpunch was planning on killing Punch tonight. Obviously, that failed," Hoist said, thinking it through.

"He definitely knew about him and was planning on finishing him off for good somehow," Jazz said, trying to figure it out. "How do you kill a personality?"

"Well, obviously he must've found some way, although it appeared to backfire tremendously," Mirage noted.

" _How do you kill a personality?_ " Nightbeat wonder to himself. " _Well, if you want to finish it off, you have to…_

…

…

… _oh scrap. If he's the killer, then it all makes sense. His contribution his been minimal to the trial. His line back then actually makes sense now. It even explains the accomplice._ "

"I know who the killer is!" Nightbeat shouted, taking everyone off guard.

"Okay, calm down. We get it. You don't have to yell," Skywarp chided him. "Now then, **you know the killer!?** " he asked him, slamming his hands the podium.

"Yes. I hate to say it, but it could only be him," Nightbeat said, glaring at everyone, ready to announce it.

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~Brawl~~

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~Counterpunch~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

Chromedome

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't realize, I'm basically mixing the G1 and Animated backgrounds for Beachcomber. It makes him a funner character for me to write. 
> 
> Also, place your bets! Who's the killer of the chapter? Found out in our next update.


	39. Chapter 3: Trial PT 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for this.

**1\. Monobear file #3**

Victim: Counterpunch

Location: Autobot Storage Room

Cause of Death: Stab wound in the back. Death was nearly instantaneous.

Time of Death: 11:30 P.M.

Additional notes: Victim had trace amount of high-grade in his systems and has a few dents and scrape marks. Victim obtained multiple knife wounds to the back post-mortem.

**2\. Location of Body**

Counterpunch, despite being a Decepticon, was located in the Autobot's storage area.

**3\. Body Discovery Announcement**

Blurr discover the body by himself, meaning two other people had to have found the body before him.

**4\. Kitchen Knife**

Knife found embedded in the body. Does not come from the dorm rooms and lacks the amount of energon on it associated with a fatal stabbing.

Confirmed to come from the bar's kitchen.

**5\. Lack of Energon**

There was a lack of energon found at the body.

**6\. Signs of a Fight**

Scraps and dents suggest Counterpunch got in a fight before he died.

**7\. Lack of evidence**

Location of body lacked any signs of a fight.

**8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids**

The Decepticons' Storage area had an overwhelming smell of cleaning fluids.

**9\. Stab Wounds**

They were placed to spell out 'PUNCH.'

**10\. Missing ElectroID**

Victim was missing his electroID.

**11\. Killing Blow**

Stab wound went through the victim's spark.

Not part of the message.

Slightly larger than the other wounds.

**12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.**

Both testify to be with each other all night at the bookstore, barring a brief interval between 11:45 and 12:15.

**13\. Dead End's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber loitering about the mall at about 11:15.

**14\. Beachcomber's Testimony**

Claims to have been asleep in his room since 10:00

**15\. Combat Knife**

Found hidden on a ledge. Covered in energon.

Confirm to match the fatal wound in the back.

Belonged to Counterpunch

**16\. Onslaught's Testimony**

Saw Beachcomber on the first day at the mall buying a bunch of anti-depressants.

**17\. Missing Anti-depressants**

Anti-depressants were missing from the pharmacy.

**18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony**

Someone came to buy a syringe after whoever bought the anti-depressants.

**19\. Bartender's Testimony**

Attest to seeing Counterpunch at around 11:00 in rough shape.

Saw Wildrider come by after him at an unspecified time.

**20\. Gold Dust**

Gold dust was found on the railing in front of the bar.

**21\. Maintenance Hall Door**

Held shut by adhesive to prevent entrance.

**22\. Maintenance Hall**

There were signs of a fight in a part of the hall.

**23\. Syringe**

Found broken in the maintenance hall and missing its needle.

Didn't have any substance in it when it was broken.

**24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall**

A part of the maintenance hall was recently cleaned.

**25\. Jazz's wounds.**

Jazz has wounds that come from a fight.

**26\. Needle**

Found inside the fatal wound in the back.

**27\. Motive**

After a certain amount of time had passed, everyone's secret would've been revealed.

**28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched**

The two don't fit each other.

**29\. Counterpunch's Files**

List an operation that Counterpunch was in that was headed by Jazz.

**30\. Mixmaster's Testimony**

Talked to a roughed up Jazz from 11:00 to 11:20.

Saw Beachcomber entered his room at a little after 11:20.

**31\. Groundbridge usage**

Used at 11:20 and 11:47.

* * *

_The trial is now in session!_

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~Brawl~~

Mirage

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~Counterpunch~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

**Chromedome**

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~Shockwave~~

Hound

~~Vortex~~

Nightbeat

~~Soundwave~~

* * *

"Chromedome, it's you, isn't it?" Nightbeat asked him.

"What!?" Rewind shouted, slamming his hand on the podium.

Chromedome didn't react, instead gazing at Nightbeat with an unsettling calmness. "Well, I guess you can't make that accusation without a good reason. Best explain why you think so," he told him.

"No he doesn't, because he's wrong," Rewind argued, getting in-between them.

"Rewind, please calm down and let him explain. It's only fair," he tried to soothe him. Rewind hesitated, thinking it through. Nightbeat didn't give him a chance to finish.

"It's quite simple," Nightbeat began to explain, a bit unnerve by Chromedome's calmness. "Counterpunch needed to get rid of Punch for good, a person which resides in his own mind. Tell me, who would be the best equipped to deal with the mind like that?" he asked them.

"A mnemosurgeon," Jazz murmured, seeing what he meant. "We used one to insert Counterpunch in Punch's mind in the first place."

"Counterpunch probably came to Chromedome at an earlier time, wanting his help in the matter since he is definitely skill at mnemosurgery. They agreed to meet in the maintenance hallway, where the two ended up in the fight, with Chromedome stabbing Counterpunch to death and moving his body to the Decepticon storage room. That is how I believe it went down," Nightbeat finished, glaring at him. Chromedome didn't react, taking it all in, before finally saying something.

"Well, that is a probable answer to how Counterpunch met his end," Chromedome agreed.

"No it isn't. It's all lies!" Rewind shouted. "You need proof! Give us the proof."

"Man, I feel really uncomfortable right now," Skywarp murmured, watching it all.

"Tell me, do you have any proof?" he asked him.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo available:

Syringe

Needle

Stab Wounds

Location of Body

Syringe and Needle Unmatched

REWIND: Why are we even discussing this?

REWIND: **Chromedome wouldn't murder anyone.**

HOIST: We've thought of that before…

HOIST: …and have ended up disappointed.

REWIND: **Not this time.**

BLURR: It's sure isn't looking that way.

BEACHCOMBER: Why did he do it?

REWIND: He didn't, you drugged-up moron.

REWIND: **He's completely innocent of this crime.**

BLUDGEON: The lies you spill are unpersuasive.

KNOCK OUT: I see no reason to think he didn't do it.

REWIND: **How about the fact that nothing links him there?**

SKYWARP: Since when did you get so feisty?

REWIND: Since you guys started blaming Chromedome for a crime **he didn't commit.**

CHROMEDOME: Oh Rewind…

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: That's wrong.

Ammo Used: Needle

* * *

"Rewind, we've found this needle during our investigation. At first, I assumed that it had to come from a syringe of some sort, but now that the truth is expose, it makes more sense if it comes from Chromedome's fingers," Nightbeat told him.

"Menomosurgeons do use needles from their hands to go through the patient's mind," Ratchet said, thinking it over. "It would make sense if it came from him."

"Exactly, which means-"

**YOUR ANSWER IS WRONG!**

"But that doesn't make sense. You guys found something that directly contradicts that," Rewind said, trying to poke holes in their arguments.

"I'm not wrong very often," Nightbeat told him, unamused by his interruption.

"Well, get ready to be proven wrong!" Rewind told him.

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available:

Syringe

Needle

Stab Wounds

Location of Body

Syringe and Needle Unmatched

REWIND: What you said doesn't make sense.

REWIND: It directly contradicts a piece of evidence you found.

REWIND: To ignore that is to sends us on the wrong path

REWIND: That means the real killer will get away.

REWIND: We will all die and it will be your fault…

REWIND: …because you didn't realize that.

…

Development

…

NIGHTBEAT: Exactly what is it am I missing?

REWIND: **The syringe of course.**

REWIND: The fact that exists means it didn't come from Chromedome.

REWIND: **It has to come from that** **.**

REWIND: That means that all your claims are false.

REWIND: **Which means that Chromedome is completely innocent**.

* * *

NIGHTBEAT: I can destroy that claim.

Ammo used: Syringe and Needle Unmatched.

* * *

"Hoist tested out the needle and the syringe and he found that they didn't match," Nightbeat told him.

"What, but-"

"Furthermore, something else proves that the syringe is nothing more than a red herring."

* * *

Present Evidence!

1\. Monobear file #3

2\. Location of Body

3\. Body Discovery Announcement

4\. Kitchen Knife

5\. Lack of Energon

6\. Signs of a Fight

7\. Lack of evidence

8\. Smell of Cleaning Fluids

9\. Stab Wounds

10\. Missing ElectroID

11\. Killing Blow

12\. Wildrider and Dead End's Alibi.

13\. Dead End's Testimony

14\. Beachcomber's Testimony

15\. Combat Knife

16\. Onslaught's Testimony

17\. Missing Anti-depressants

18\. Pharmacy Cashier's Testimony

19\. Bartender's Testimony

20\. Gold Dust

21\. Maintenance Hall Door

22\. Maintenance Hall

23\. **Syringe**

24\. Clean Section of Maintenance Hall

25\. Jazz's wounds.

26\. Needle

27\. Motive

28\. Syringe and Needle Unmatched

29\. Counterpunch's Files

30\. Mixmaster's Testimony

31\. Groundbridge usage

* * *

"There was nothing in the syringe. Tell me, if the syringe needle was broken in use, then why is their nothing in it? If it was used, there would've been something in there," Nightbeat told him.

"Guh!" Rewind shouted, surprised. "Uh-uh, that-"

"Rewind, that's enough," Chromedome told him calmly. Rewind turned to him and was about to say something until he saw that Chromedome was showing off the needles on his fingertips.

One of them was missing.

"I see no reason to keep this up," Chromedome told them. "Let's just get this over with."

"Wha-but-but-but," Rewind sputtered uncontrollably.

"Why is he so opposed to him being convicted?" Skywarp asked.

"You mean besides the fact that they're conjunx endures," Ratchet chided him.

"Yeah! I mean, love can only go so far," Skywarp said.

"Tell me, when did you start suspecting me?" Chromedome asked Nightbeat.

Nightbeat hesitated. Chromedome was giving up way too easily. He did it, no doubt, but it was quite disturbing. "It would be when we first talked during the investigation," he answered.

"Really?"

"Yes, you see, you refer to him as a 'Bot instead of a 'Con," he told him.

_"Now where is he?" Swindle murmured._

_"Where's who?" a voice asked and they turned to see Chromedome and Rewind sitting together at a table._

_"Hoist," Swindle answered._

_"Ah, he went to the science lab in the first building," Rewind answered for him._

_"Hah, thanks for that," Nightbeat thanked._

_"You're welcome. I do hope you find the 'Bot's murderer," Chromedome told them before discussing something with Rewind again in hushed tones._

"Ah, I did. A slip of the tongue," Chromedome told him. "Well then, I guess we can-"

"No!" Rewind shouted, getting everybody's attention.

"Ugh, now what?" Swindle complained. "We know he did it."

"No, he didn't. He was just an accomplice," Rewind told them.

"...What?" Swindle muttered.

"Huh?" Nautilator wondered. "Is he serious?"

"Counterpunch was trying to kill Chromedome. In the fight, he knocked the blade from him. I wanted to protect Chromedome so I grabbed it and… and I stabbed him in the back with it while he wasn't looking," Rewind confessed to them.

"What! Rewind-" Chromedome tried to stop him.

"No! I can't let you die for my mistake. Please, I'm telling you, I killed him. He's just an accomplice," he told them.

"What they, that can't be right… right?" Skywarp asked, unsure.

"I don't know. He sounded sincere," Ratchet said, thinking it through.

"Please, vote for me. Chromedome has to live," he told them.

"I don't know who to vote for," Scavenger said, unable to figure it out.

"Well then, allow me," Nightbeat said, glaring at Rewind. "You're lying to us! Chromedome is the killer, there is no denying it."

"What! You- you are willing to let everyone die just because you can't admit you're wrong?" Rewind badgered him.

"No, I'm saying he did it because he did," Nightbeat reaffirmed, glaring at him. "You are the accomplice, not him."

"No, that's… that's… that's wrong. I won't let you do that! THAT'S ALL WRONG!"

* * *

_Panic Talk Battle!_

SHIELD X10

REWIND: I am the killer!

SHIELD X9

REWIND: Chromedome is just a accomplice!

SHIELD X8

REWIND: You're arrogance is killing everyone!

SHIELD X7

REWIND: All you tell are lies!

SHIELD X6

REWIND: You're a sham!

SHIELD X5

REWIND: Shut up!

SHIELD X4

REWIND: No more!

SHIELD X3

REWIND: Why do you keep arguing!

SHIELD X2

REWIND: The killer is me!

SHIELD X1

REWIND: You're a moron!

_Shield Destroyed_

REWIND: **Chromedome couldn't have killed him.**

Found wound needle in

Needle found in wound

NIGHTBEAT: That's it!

* * *

"Rewind, you know Chromedome's needle?"

"What about it!

"We found it inside the wound caused by the combat knife." Rewind's falter at hearing that. "You get it. The only way it could've broken off during the battle is if he was driving the knife into Counterpunch. There is no alternative," Nightbeat finished, staring sympathetically at him. "I'm sorry we have to do this, but Chromedome is the killer and you're the accomplice."

"No… that's not… true," Rewind continued to deny it.

"Nightbeat, perhaps you could explain it from the top. Maybe he can finally recognize the futility of it," Chromedome requested of him. Nighbeat glanced at him oddly before giving a nod.

"Alright, here goes," he said.

* * *

_Climax Logic!_

Chapter 1

This all began with Counterpunch researching into himself because of the motive. We were all given a datapad with our darkest secret on it. Counterpunch was looking through the archives to make sense of it. As he looked through more and more files, he realized the answer for his blackouts: a split personality. In order to get rid of it, he set up a meeting for someone later. That person being the killer, who happened to be a skilled mnemosurgeon and could help solve his split personality problem.

Chapter 2

Counterpunch's final hour began with him getting in a fight with someone in the maintenance hall: Jazz, the person behind his split personality. The two fought, gaining many wounds from each other, however neither of the two killed each other. After the fight, Jazz went somewhere else while Counterpunch went to the bar, leaving the maintenance hall the way it was.

Chapter 3

Not long after, he left and went to the pharmacy to try, and fail, to buy some neuro booster, as they were sold out. There, he met another person: Beachcomber, a personal friend of the other personality. During the talk, Counterpunch revealed to him that he was killing the other personality tonight, causing Beachcomber to run to his room, leaving Counterpunch to go by himself to the meeting spot: the maintenance hall where he fought with Jazz.

Chapter 4

There, he met his killer and the accomplice. After the three talked, a fight happened as Counterpunch and Punch both fought for dominance once again. Counterpunch lost his knife and resulted to his bare hands to fight back. This led to his downfall when the killer got the knife and stabbed him in the back with the knife, hitting his spark and killing him. During the fatal blow, a needle from the killer's fingertip broke off and landed in the wound, leaving it unseen by them.

Chapter 5

Realizing what had happened, the two quickly began a cover-up. One of them quickly took the body to the storage area and used Counterpunch's electroID to open the Decepticon area and dump him there, hoping to cast blame to any of the Decepticons as the killer as he and his accomplice were both Autobots. He also went and threw the combat knife onto the ledge near the ceiling, leaving it unseen. It would probably have never been found if it wasn't for Laserbeak.

Chapter 6

At the same time, the other person went to the pharmacy and bought a syringe. He went back to the maintenance hall and broke the needle and placed the syringe where Jazz and Counterpunch fought, subspacing the needle from the syringe. They did this because the two were pressed for time on the missing needle and needed to find a reason to justify it being in Counterpunch's body, so they did this in the hopes of framing Jazz in case we weren't fooled by his body being in the Decepticon storage room.

Chapter 7

After that, they cleaned up where they killed Counterpunch, leaving where Jazz and Counterpunch fought untouched, and then headed out and used some adhesive to keep the door from opening. They probably knew that it would't keep us from investigating the area, so they did it to further blame Jazz. After that, they began cleaning any energon that may have been spilled in the mall and in the storage area not in the Decepticon area so as to make it appear Counterpunch died in the Decepticon Storage area. With that done, they headed for the groundbridge on the third floor, leaving the area unseen, in their mind.

Chapter 8

In actuality, they were watched by someone: Wildrider, looking at them through a telescope in front of the bar on the fifth floor. He glimpsed the tail-end of their cover-up and went to the storage room that they had just finished cleaning. He entered the Decepticon storage room to find Counterpunch's corpse there. Instead of leaving and telling everyone, he had a different idea. One that would further confuse the case for us. 

Chapter 9

Wildrider, thanks to the motive, knew of Counterpunch's disorder and took advantage of it, deciding to have some fun. He grabbed the body and carried him to the Autobot's storage area, using Counterpunch's electroID to enter the area. Since Counterpunch was a Decepticon and Punch was an Autobot and they both were in the same body, the electroID could open both doors. 

Chapter 10

From there, he used a knife from the bar and stabbed out the message 'PUNCH' on the victim's back, as a way of displaying Counterpunch's other self. After that, he left, taking Counterpunch's electroID with him to keep anyone from knowing of the electroID's secrets. From there, he cleaned the Decepticon's storage area to hide the fact that the body was there to begin with. After that, he left, leaving Counterpunch's body behind to be found by Blurr not long after.

The killer and the accomplice that caused the death of Counterpunch was you: **Chromedome** and **Rewind**.

* * *

"Well, I guess that's a good explanation," Chromedome said, looking at a stunned Rewind. "Wouldn't you agreed, Rewind?"

"But, I don't want you to die," Rewind murmured, barely able to let it out.

"Well, we both knew the instant Counterpunch was dead what would happen. Voting for me means that everyone else will survive and I'm fine with that," he said, sounding relieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the anonymous user who changes his name every time wins the pot! Enjoy your feels!


	40. Chapter 3: Execution

"Well then, I believe it is time to vote," Chromedome said calmly.

"No, I don't want to… I can't!" Rewind shouted, now knowing what to do.

"Rewind, you can vote for whoever you want to as everyone else will make up for you. Your vote is meaningless," Chromedome told him.

"No, that can't be," Rewind whispered.

"Well, I agree with Chromedome. It's time to vote!" Monobear interrupted, grabbing everyone's attention. "Get your electroID out and vote for who you think is the culprit. Will you guess correctly or be oh so very wrong?" Monobear asked them. Almost immediately, Chromedome grabbed his and voted, being the first done. Wildrider followed closely behind, voting without a second look. After that, everyone else hesistated, looking at Rewind broken from before making their vote. The final person was Rewind, who hadn't even gotten his out yet. "Hey, you! Get out and vote! Or am I going to have two punishments today?" Monobear sadistically pondered.

"Rewind, get it out and vote," Chromedome chastised.

"But… Chrome-"

"Do you want my death to be meaningless?" he asked him.

"W-what? No, of course not."

"Then vote. It doesn't matter who you vote for, my fate is decided. Please, you have to live for me," Chromedome begged him. Rewind looked up at him, pleading with him not to. "Please."

"But… but," Rewind said.

"Okay, you got thirty seconds to vote before I punish you," Monobear told him, wanting to know if he would get to finished him off as well.

"For Primus's sake, vote already!" Ratchet screamed at him.

"Please, Rewind. Don't give up like this," Beachcomber told him.

"Please…," Chromedome begged him. "You can survive without me."

Rewind looked around, thinking it through. "15!" Monobear shouted. His announcement shook him out of his daze and he fumbled for the electroID. "10!" Rewind quickly looked around for someone to vote for, unsure if he wanted to go through with it. "5!" Monobear shouted. Finally, Rewind made his choice, picked it, and confirmed it. "Hey all, the votes have been given! It's time to see the results!" Monobear shouted, ignoring Rewind's grief. "Let's see if you chose correctly!"

At that, the slot machine came back and spin around everyone's pixelated faces. It kept going until it landed on three faces of Chromedome. At that, another burst of coins and confetti showered everyone, signifying that they were terribly right. "Correct! Chromedome, the Ultimate Mnemosurgeon, killed Counterpunch A.K.A. Punch, the Ultimate Double Agent! Best of all, the vote was unanimous. Even Chromey's little lover voted for him," Monobear announced.

"I'm… so… sorry," Rewind could barely muttered, holding on to the stand. He couldn't help it. This wasn't how him and Chromedome were supposed to be! They should've been together throughout the Reconstruction of Cybertron. It was supposed to be a happy ending. There should've been no more deaths. No one else should've been-

He felt someone's arms close around him timely and gave a little yelped when he realized it was Chromedome. "I'm sorry that this has to happen," he told him softly, his voice breaking a little bit. "I know this was supposed to end with the both of us getting out of here, but I'm afraid that isn't going to happen."

"I'm so sorry I voted… for you," he told him.

"Don't. You were just doing the right thing," he told him.

"Why…?" Ratchet said. "Why did you get in a fight with Counterpunch?" Chromedome barely paid him any attention as he answered.

"Well, it was more like Counterpunch fighting with himself. We were about to do the operation when he started hallucinating," he told him.

"Hallucinating?" Jazz asked.

"Yes. He started envisioning Rewind as him and lost control. Before I could get a chance he knocked me back, losing his knife, and attacking Rewind. I had to stop him, so I grabbed for the nearest object. I was expecting a blunt object, something that wouldn't do too much damage, but instead, I grabbed the knife," he said, holding onto Rewind gently. "You know the rest."

"That hallucination… it must've been Punch trying to stop you from doing the operation," Perceptor realized. "He figured out what was about to happened, so he had to put a stop to it somehow. Instead, it ended up getting the both of them killed," he finished, withdrawn.

"As well as getting Chromedome killed as well," Dead End pointed out.

"Yes, although I guess I have it coming due to being sloppy," Chromedome muttered. "If I kept my senses in line and think things through, I probably could've taken Counterpunch down without killing him. I didn't want anyone else to die."

"If you didn't want anyone to die, than why didn't you tell us you killed him when you had that chance and why did you go to all the trouble of throwing us off track?" Mirage asked him accusingly.

"Rewind didn't want me to die," Chromedome answered simply.

"That's it?" Skywarp questioned.

"Yes. It was Rewind's idea to do a cover-up and he made me promised that I wouldn't help you in any way. I agreed, although I wouldn't put up a fight if you did figured out it was me," Chromedome explained to them.

"So, the desire to protect a love one caused you to try and get everyone else killed," Bludgeon summarized.

"Well, I guess so," Chromedome agreed, letting go of Rewind.

"What are you doing?" Rewind asked him.

"Isn't it obvious? I need to be executed," Chromedome told him, turning to Monobear. "Well then, I guess it's time."

"If you say so," Monobear agreed, getting ready to get it started.

"No, don't!" Rewind shouted, getting in front of Chromedome. "Please, take me instead. Let him live!"

"Sorry, but you're not a rule-breaker. You're big lover over there is. Therefore, he needs to be executed," Monobear explained to him. "Upupupu, you're despair is wonderful."

"Rewind," Chromedome said, gaining his attention, "please, don't make my death a waste. Live for me and everyone else."

"But- but-"

"Please, for me," he asked him, placing a hand lovingly on his shoulders.

"I… I…," Rewind hesitated, not exactly sure what to say. "I can try."

"Good," Chromedome said, looking at Monobear. "Okay, do your worst."

"Oh, I attend to," Monobear replied, rubbing his paws together in anticipation. "Okay, everyone, let's give a cheer for Chromedome's punishment and it's a very special one for out Ultimate Mnemosurgeon," he announced. With that, the red button came out of the ground, ready for Monobear to push it and begin the execution. Right before he hit it with his gavel, Chromedome turned to Rewind and said one last thing to him.

"You know, I knew this was going to happen once again. I'm just glad I'm the one that has to die instead of the one I love," he told him. Rewind wanted to respond, but he couldn't get it out in time as Monobear hit the button and the chains dragged Chromedome to his execution.

* * *

_GAME OVER_

_CHROMEDOME HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY_

_COMMENCING EXECUTION_

* * *

_Chromedome sat on a chair, strapped to it, in a white, sterile room. One look at the chair would confirm that it was a chair often used in mnemosurgery where a dangerous patient had to be secured so that they couldn't get loose. Perfect thing for a murderer._

_On the wall in from of him, a window was placed so that everyone else could have a front-row place to the execution. Everyone was watching with a sense of dread, none more than Rewind who had his body pressed against the window, watching Chromedome with what looked like coolant coming from his optics._

* * *

_BRAINDEAD_

* * *

_The door on the side opened, showing Monobear pushing in a device on a trolley. The device was a strange one with a sign on the side reading:_

_The Monobrain Examiner_

_The new mnemosurgery device sure to make mnemosurgeons obsolete_

_He brought the device behind Chromedome and gave an exaggerated sigh and wiped a nonexistent sweat off himself before giving a thumbs up to the crowd behind the window and gave a little wink to Rewind in a suggestive way._

_Chromedome couldn't see the device due being unable to move, but he knew that whatever it was going to be bad, which was confirmed by the strange look on everyone's faces as Monobear showed off the device._

_Monobear pressed a button and the device came to life, ready to perform its duty. Five long tentacles with needles at the end of them came out of the machine, showing off to everyone. In a few seconds, the tentacles switched gears and inserted themselves into the back of Chromedome's head. He gave a slight gasp, but otherwise didn't react to it._

_The needles scrapped themselves inside of his head, causing a bit of pain, as they looked for the brain. After a few seconds of agonizing searching, they found it and insert themselves in it._

_Chromedome remain still as he waited for the needles to kill him, but was surprised when the needles retracted themselves a few seconds later and back into the machine, turning off._

_Monobear wasn't expecting this and pushed a few more buttons to try and get the thing working again. Suddenly the machine came back to life and the tentacles appeared again. However, these came armed with long, sinister looking blades. Monobear looked surprised before giving a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. This was good as well._

_Chromedome, as he had his back to it, didn't know what was going on, but judging by everyone's faces going from confused to horrified in a second confirmed that whatever was coming was worse than the needles._

_Suddenly, one of the blades came down and slammed itself into the back of his head. This brought out a very loud scream from Chromedome and a louder one from Rewind, much to the bear's satisfaction. Not long after that, three of the remaining blades smashed themselves into his head, each one amplifying the pain._

_Chromedome was not doing too good, taking short ragged breaths. It was hard to feel anything other than pain as the knives remained stuck in his head, one of them jutting out of the front of his face where his right optic was._

_Luckily, his lack of screaming was being carried by Rewind, banging his fists against the wall and screaming louder than Siren in a screaming contest. Luckily for Chromedome, he couldn't hear it as the room was meant for them to hear him, but not vice versa._

_The last tentacle waved around before launching itself up into the air and came down to the top of his head and kept going down until it sunk itself deep into his spark. Chromedome gave one final breath before resting in the chair, unmoving, energon sliding down from his head._

_Monobear looked at the body, analyzing it thoroughly before giving a nod of his head._

_Perfect._

* * *

"Chromedome!" Rewind shouted in anguish as he gazed at the dead form of Chromedome, his spark torn in two.

"Woo! That was awesome, do you agree?" Monobear asked them.

"What do you think, you wretched thing," Blast Off chided, looking away in disgust.

"Holy…," Beachcomber whispered, feeling he was about to faint. "He didn't deserve that."

"That was an… abomination!" Ratchet shouted.

"Jeez, I think that was the most painful one so far. At least Soundwave and Brawl's were quick," Skywarp said, feeling a bit unease. Laserbeak watched the whole thing with a look of interest.

"You… despicable creature," Bludgeon muttered, looking at it with disdain.

"Aww, I thought you would appreciate my work more than that. I put a lot of effort into it," Monobear said with an cutesy sadness.

"It shows," Hoist murmured in disgust.

"Ah, well, that's it. You guys can leave and be even more consumed by despair now. Although, I think you're probably going to have to carry the widower out of here," Monobear said, pointing to Rewind, who hadn't move an inch when the final blade hit.

"Rewind?" Hound asked, coming next to him and lightly shaking his shoulders. "Are you alright?"

Rewind didn't respond.

"Might be shell-shocked. The death of a conjunx endura is hard on the spark and mind and takes time to process," Ratchet told everybody.

"Well then," Hound muttered, picking up Rewind and placing him in a bridal position, "let's get him out of here. I don't think he needs to see Chromedome anymore."

"That's probably a good idea," Ratchet agreed. Everyone headed to the elevator, slowly and sluggishly. The adrenaline from the body and he trial was wearing off and everyone desperately wanted to recharge and get the awful image of Chromedome out of their memory banks. Blurr pressed the button and the elevator closed upon another class trial.

* * *

Hound gently laid Rewind on the recharge berth. He had seemed to have faint from shock and would be knocked out for a while. "So, what do you think we should do with him?" Hound asked Ratchet as he stared down at Rewind.

"Right now, we should probably have someone watch him. There is an uncomfortably high suicide rate amongst widowed conjunx enduras and he should have constant surveillance. Chromedome's death and the severity of the situation could be enough to make him do something drastic," Ratchet told him.

"Well then, I guess I'm volunteering for first watch," Hound muttered as he took a seat. "See you in the morning and I'll try to drag Rewind down as well."

"Okay. Please, watched over him carefully," Ratchet reminded him as he left the room.

"I got it," Hound muttered as the door closed. He gazed at the small, unmoving form and silently prayed that no more deaths would happen.

* * *

Blurr leaned against the railing at the mall, unable to sleep. The trial had taken its toll on most of the people there and Blurr didn't want to go to sleep with the memory of Chromedome fresh in his mind. Next to him, Mixmaster was doing the same, glaring down at Scavenger at a table who was eating the oil balls with a shaky hand.

"So, with Chromedome's death, the new area should be open. You want to go check it out?" Mixmaster asked him.

"Nah, at least, not with you," he told him.

"Now why is that?" he asked him, looking at him with a faux hurt impression.

"Bad luck. I explored this area with Counterpunch in the dead of night and he ended up dead. I don't want to sound superstitious, but I don't want to risk it," Blurr told him.

"Hmph, course not," Mixmaster muttered, looking back down at Scavenger. "I asked Scavenger if he could give me any information on who hit him, but he said he didn't see his attacker, so it's a bust. Maybe Nightbeat could wring more information out of him if he wasn't a suspect," he told him.

"Damn, I've forgotten about that," Blurr muttered, thinking it over. "I'm sure Jazz can gain something from him."

"Hopefully," Mixmaster muttered. "We may have solved Counterpunch's murder, but we still got at least one more risk around. We need to watch our back more now than ever for any murderers."

"Yeah…," Blurr muttered, looking at the bright lights. It was getting tired and would probably need to recharge soon, but that can wait. Chromedome's mangled head won't be-

What the heck was that glint?

He gazed to see Wildrider watching over him with the telescope. At being spotted, Wildrider waved at him and flashed a creepy, slasher smile that sent a chill down Blurr spine. "We have to keep an eye on Wildrider," Blurr told Mixmaster.

"Huh?" Mixmaster asked before looking up at the smiling manic. "Oh, _him_ ," he said with disgust.

"What's his problem?" Blurr asked him.

"Don't know. He's always been this way from when I've first met him, crazy psychopath," he told him with disdain. "He was a constant patient in Hook's med-bay and several people came down because of him."

"You think he'll kill anyone?" Blurr asked him.

"Of course he will. It's just a question of when he'll get bored of everyone else and decide to murder someone himself. He probably won't care if he gets caught," Mixmaaster warned him.

"Thanks for the information, although it doesn't quite soothe me," he told him.

"You're welcome. Now, do you want to go down and try those oil balls out? It could help us get our mind off the situation," he told him.

"Yeah, sure," Blurr muttered, sending Wildrider an obscene gesture with his finger before heading off with him down the steps, a creeping thought in the back of his mind.

" _It's just a question of when he'll get bored of everyone else and decide to murder someone himself."_

**Chapter 3: Sworn to Secrecy (END)  
**

**Teachers alive: 24**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned I'm evil?


	41. Chapter 4: Three New Worlds

**Chapter 4: I Feel That Pale Death Creeping In (BEGIN)**

**(Ab)normal Days**

The next morning, not many people were in hurry to get up that day. With the trial being late in the night and Chromedome's execution, not many people were up for socializing. Naturally, the first two in the lunchroom were the two that took death the lightest.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Wildrider shouted as him and Dead End entered the lunchroom together at 7:30.

"Wildrider, may I recommend taking pleasure in different things?" his gestaltmate recommended as the two of them grabbed a cube.

"Oh, come on! The way the knife went flying in the air and got stuck in the head was awesome! I can only hope that my execution is as good as that."

"Uh-huh, yes, whatever," Dead End said with a roll of his optics. "If you're going to kill someone, perhaps you could put some effort in hiding it," he recommended as the two of them grabbed a seat.

"Maybe I could try that," Wildrider agreed. "I'm plenty smart you know. All the insane people are smart."

"I would say that some smart people are insane and some people are just insane because they _just are,"_ Dead End offered his viewpoint, glaring at Wildrider.

"Oh, you want to go at it?" Wildrider asked, glaring at him wickedly.

"If you two do fight, do it when I'm not around," a voiced told them. The two glanced at the entrance where Bludgeon walked in and grabbed a cube before taking a seat.

"Why am I not surprised that you're up?" Dead End muttered, taking a sip of his cube.

"I take death easily. The only thing that really affected me was _how_ it was done," Bludgeon told them, sounding a bit unease. "To kill someone so blatantly sadistically, shows a lack of morals."

"Coming from someone who worked with Jhiaxus, that must really say something," Dead End snarked, taking a sipped from his cube.

"Our relationship was… complicated," Bludgeon muttered. "Not that it matters much anymore. He's dead. Dust to the vacuum of space."

"A wonderful loss to everyone," Dead End muttered.

"Aww, but I liked him, kinda," Wildrider said sadly.

"Oh boy, not many up today, huh?" came a new voice and they all glared at Beachcomber as he slowly made his way in, looking really tired.

"Insommia?" Dead End asked him as he took a cube and dropped in his seat.

"Of a sort," Beachcomber said, clutching his head worryingly. "What happened to Chromedome was messed up."

"See Wildrider, you're in the minority," he told him.

"Ah, whatever. Not everyone can appreciate genius," Wildrider begrudgingly remarked.

"I'm telling you for the last time, NO!" said a voiced in the hallway.

"Ratchet, have you seen yourself in the mirror? You need to clean up!" said another voice. After that sentence was said, Ratchet and Knock Out entered together, bickering. "All of those dents and scratches need to be cleaned up."

"Do you want me to smack you?"

"You wouldn't _dare_ scratch my finish."

"Oh, I so would."

"Why you smug-"

"Enough!" Bludgeon shouted, slamming his fist on the table, causing the two medics to stop arguing. "You two are driving my patience."

"Mine too," Smokescreen said, entering the room. "I was trailing behind them because they were so annoying." He went and picked up a cube and sat down, observing everyone. "So, I'm guessing no one had a good night's sleep," he remarked sarcastically.

"Aside from Wildrider, no," Dead End remarked.

"Makes sense," he muttered with a drink of his cube.

"Alright, calm down. We're you some energon," they heard yet another voice said and Skywarp entered, Laserbeak incessantly pecking at him. "Stupid pet wants energon." At that, the pecks became faster and harder, causing Skywarp to moan louder and rushed to the energon, quickly entering and leaving the place and sitting at the table, a cube for each of them. "I don't understand how Soundwave dealt with him much less all those other minicons," Skywawp complained in a huff.

"Well then, why don't you give him to someone more capable?" Ratchet asked him.

"No way. You know what's the last thing Starscream said to me when I was coming over here?" he asked them rhetorically. "He said, 'Skywarp, you are too much of an idiot to take care of anything. They'll all die under you guidance.' Well, you know what? _Screw him_. I'm going to take care of Laserbeak and make Soundwave proud, and then rub it in Starscream's face when I get back to him," Skywarp told everyone.

"What a riveting tale," Hoist mutter, exiting the energon room and taking a seat.

"What the- When did you get in here?" Skywarp asked, glaring at him.

"You'll never know," he muttered, gulping some of the energon. "Now then, when are we going to explore the new area, if no one else has already done so," he asked the group.

"Well, I say we wait to roughly eight to go there so that everyone else can have time to get up," Ratchet told him.

"Probably for the best," Bludgeon agreed, "although I think some of the will be sleeping in late today, for a myriad number of reasons."

"Big, scary, samurai dude is right. I don't think many people are going to come out this morning," Skywarp agreed, his optics wandering around.

"Yes, I think so as well," Knock Out agreed, "although I think a couple of them will be trying and failing to sleep, like Beachcomber over there." He pointed to Beachcomber slumped down and not focusing on anything in particular. "He probably binge on those anti-depressants last night."

"Huh?" Beachcomber wondered. "Did you say something to me?"

"Nope," Knock Out answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"Smooth," Dead End muttered, drawing a datapad out and reading it. "Tell me when we'll begin our exploration."

"Hmph, whatever," Knock Out said, growing quiet.

For the next few minutes, the room was silent. The most amount of noise came from Skywarp talking quietly to Laserbeak, Wildrider and Beachcomber silently muttering to themselves, and Ratchet and Knock Out continuing their argument at lower decibels. Finally, at 7:50 Hoist asked a question. "How do you think Rewind is going to be?"

"Oh, boy, him," Knock Out muttered. "You think gestaltmates are bad, Conjunx Enduras are worst."

"He is, unfortunately, right," Ratchet muttered. "While gestaltmates have each other to help themselves out with their connections, Conjunx Enduras only have themselves. The impact of a loved one's death will be greater on them."

"So, things are looking grim for Rewind," Hoist muttered.

"Yes, unfortunately. I have Hound watching over him in case something happens to him."

"Hmphf, love. What a waste of time," Bludgeon muttered.

"Sounds like someone doesn't get fragged," Skywarp murmured to Laserbeak.

"Foolish one, be silent," he talked down to him.

"Someone's touchy," Smokescreen murmured.

"I'm not. I just don't understand why anyone would burden themselves with it. Seems like it would cause more harm in the long run," Bludgeon explained himself.

"Why do you think like that?" Beachcomber asked him.

"Some people just don't understand love," Knock Out told him.

"There's a difference between love and attention," Ratchet told him.

"Hey!"

"GHOST!" Skywarp shouted, pointing at the energon room door.

"What?" Ratchet asked, looking at him oddly. "Have you been ingesting things you shouldn't be?"

"No, I'm saying that THERE'S A GHOST IN THERE!" Skywarp told them, glaring at the room.

"Oh, for the love of," a voice said as the door opened showing nothing before Mirage appeared, uncloaking himself. "It's just me. I just wanted to get my cube and get out."

"Oh, sorry," Skywarp muttered, awkwardly rubbing his head.

"Well, why don't you come sit with us?" Hoist asked him. "We'll be exploring the new area soon and it could have something you like."

"Might as well. I don't see any point of heading off on my own now, since you've saw me," he grumpily said, taking a seat. "So, what new ways to kill each other will you think the next area will have?" he asked them.

"Straight to the point, are you?" Ratchet mentioned.

"Just saying what's on everyone's mind," he told them, softly rubbing his cube of energon.

"Well, we're trying not to be completely cynical," he told him, taking a swig of the energon.

"Huh, never thought I would hear you said that," Mirage muttered.

"Considering the circumstances, it's best to be at least a little optimistic in order to not go insane," Ratchet explained. "That bears wants up to be cynical enough to kill anyone to escape and I'd rather not fall for his trap."

"Huh, I guess I can follow that," Mirage agreed, "but you still have got to be cynical enough to distrust everyone here, lest you get a knife in you back."

"True, which is why I wasn't disagreeing with your statement," Ratchet told him. "Considering the previous areas, I'm not quite sure what the next area will have. Could be anything."

"Well, we have only a few minutes before we head out," Bludgeon said, looking at the time. "7:55."

"I can't wait! It should be awesome," Wildrider said in anticipation.

"Well, we already got a bar, so I'm good," Smokescreen murmured.

"I may have to get a drink there with you soon," Hoist told him.

"Hey, that's fine with me. I could always use more drinking buddies," Smokescreen consented with a tip of the cube before finishing it.

"Humph, don't you have better ways to past time," Bludgeon questioned them. "At least the nihilist doesn't drink away his sorrows."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Dead End muttered silently, flicking through his datapad slowly.

"Still, just because we're still alive doesn't mean we're all done. We still need to find a way out," Knock Out told them.

"And we need to figure out who attacked Scavenger," Ratchet told them. "Whoever had done that is still a threat to everyone here and is a probable serial killer."

"That's not the only thing we have to worry about," Hoist murmured.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Oh yeah. There's a-" Wildrider was about to say.

"Silence you!" Dead End told him, glaring him down.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Wildrider muttered.

"Thank you, Dead End," Hoist thanked him.

"Wait, what are you three keeping from us?" Bludgeon questioned them.

"Uh, we'll tell you later," Hoist answered him.

"What are you keeping from us?" Mirage asked them, staring them down.

"Yeah. That's very suspicious," Skywarp agreed, Laserbeak nodding in agreement.

"We'll explain later," Hoist said, getting up. "It's almost 8:00. It's obvious no one else will be getting up. We might as well go to the new area and recon it."

"You're just going to brush it aside?" Bludgeon asked him, getting up.

"Yes. Trust me, you will be informed later, but as of now, we can't. Too dangerous."

"Huh, well, I think you've got all of us intrigued," he muttered, heading out of the room. "Now then, let's examine the new building!"

* * *

 The group traveled to the interconnecting hallway via the first floor and arrived at the door. The group glanced at each other with suspicion before Ratchet reached forward to open the door. "Well, best figured out what's inside," he muttered, wrenching it open and everyone entering the building.

"Huh? Three new sections?" Bludgeon said, glancing at the entrances for them. Each entrance had a sign above them, telling them what the new area was.

"A med-bay," Knock Out said with anticipation.

"A repair bay?" Hoist whispered with equal anticipation.

"And a casino? Oh, hell yes!" Smokescreen shouted with glee. "Move over bar, I got a new favorite place."

"What an… odd place to put something like this," Beachcomber muttered. "We were supposed to teach students, not get them addicted to gambling."

"Let's be honest, was this place really meant to be used to educate people?" Knock Out asked him.

"According to those newspaper articles, yeah," Beachcomber reminded him.

"Oh yeah, that's another mystery we have to solve," he agreed.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hitting the casino," Smokescreen told them with a smirk as he stride over there. The rest looked at each other when he made that statement and split-up, each of them heading to an area that stroked their interest.

* * *

"Well, nice to see the med-bay is very well equipped," Ratchet said, looking the white place over. There was diagrams all over the place about different types of Cybertronian anatomy and instructions on what to do in various situations. Table to place patients were strung around the five story place, making it very good at holding patients and medical equipment were all around the area with different operations in mind.

"Agreed," Knock Out consented. "This is top grade and very big. This must be where we taught people heading into the medical field."

"It looks… sterile," Beachcomber muttered, looking the place over.

"No kidding. If it isn't sterile what's the point of it even existing?" Knock Out questioned him, closely examining a scalpel before pointing it at Ratchet. "Which is another reason I want to clean you. Can you imagine trying to perform surgery on someone the way you look right now?" he questioned him.

"Hey, I keep myself clean. Just because I don't look flawless doesn't mean I'm not clean," Ratchet explained to him.

"Yes, but it would go a long way towards comforting them," he reminded him.

"I wondered how many thought you were comforting before they died under your care," Ratchet badgered him.

"Hey, the only ones that died under my care were the ones I disliked. You know it had nothing to do with my skills," he chided him.

"Do you guys always argued like this?" Beachcomber asked them, cutting into their argument..

"Eh, it can't be helped," Knock Out said with a shrugged. "We're two extremely different people so conflict is bound to happen."

"He's right. We could be in two entirely different professions and we'll still argue with each other about each other about something," Ratchet agreed.

"Do you even like each other?" Beachcomber asked them.

"I like to think we respect each other's capabilities in the field," Ratchet told him, "when one of the medics isn't acting like a placebo."

"I agreed, even if one of them looks like they haven't cleaned themselves up in ages," Knock Out consented.

"I swear, you never stop insulting each other," Beachcomber muttered, looking over the drug cabinet. "I just hope you don't kill each other."

"Oh, trust me, we already talked about what would happen if we escapes by sending everyone to their doomed and we came to a mutual agreement to work together to investigate murders if they occur."

"Which they tend to happen at an uncomfortable frequency around here," Ratchet said.

"Don't worry. With the two of us working together, no murderer will get away with their crime," Knock Out told him.

"I would love to believe that, but each murder gets trickier than the last one. Who says we won't fail when the next one occurs," Ratchet reminded him.

"Ah, Ratchet, you underestimate our abilities. Come on, we're all the best in our field. If a killer think they will get away with a murder, they have another thing coming. Even if Nightbeat decides to kill someone, we'll catch him in the act," Knock Out optimistically told him.

"Well, excuse me for being a realist, but we have to take every course of action into account. Anyone is capable of killing, even if it's unintentional, as we've seen with Brawl and Chromedome, and when place in a corner, they will do anything to win and survive, even if that means killing the rest of us," Ratchet explained to him. "We have to be wary of everyone. The strangers, your friends, and even ourselves."

"Ourselves?" Beachcomber asked, confused. "What do we have to be so afraid about ourselves?"

""I think I get it," Knock Out muttered. "Let's be honest, we've all thought about killing someone to escape. We've just decided not to." Beachcomber was about to speak up, Knock Out spoke again. "If you say you haven't, you're only lying to yourself." At that, Beachcomber grewed quiet before deciding to speak.

"But, I'm a pacifist," he reminded him.

"And that pause was you confirming that you have thought about killing someone to escape, right?" Knock Out questioned him. Beachcomber looked away and stared guiltily at the floor. "That's what I thought. You can't denied the impossible. We all have a killer in us. Even pacifists like you have one."

"Plus, you couldn't escape the war without killing someone," Ratchet agreed, looking at Beachcomber. "I looked at your report. Four confirmed kills. Certainly one of the least here, but you've still killed."

"Everyone's killed. It's no secret," Knockout told him.

Beachcomber stayed silent, deciding that the ground was a nicer place to look at. "I-I guess…." was all that he said.

* * *

 

"This place is spectacular," Hoist said as he looked around the brown area. What was inside was a lot like the tool room but blown up to bigger proportions. Catwalks were around the area, meant for bigger projects, Doors heading outside of the building was locked tight with a door much like the main way into the building, armed with miniguns watching over it. Tools were all locked up in storage containers or hanged up on the wall neatly.

"I must admit, this is certainly… impressive," Mirage agreed, looking around the place.

"It looks very… wide," was all that Bludgeon had to say.

"Exactly why did you followed us?" Mirage asked him, suspicious.

"The casino is far too… destructive, causing people to financially destroyed themselves and despair, and a med-bay is something I've _never_ been to nor do I plan on," Bludgeon told them. "Those are for the weak."

"Ah, so, process of elimination," Hoist said, looking around. "This place is dangerous. So many murder weapons…"

"Hammers, welders, blades of all sorts," Mirage murmured.

"And yet, none of those blades would make for a suitable replacement for my sword," Bludgeon murmured gravely.

"You care so much for your sword," Mirage noticed.

"I would prefer to have my original blade, as that was an inherited weapon, given to one master to another, but a well-made sword can serve as a suitable replacement," he told them, sizing Mirage up. "Why do you desire to come here? Hoist makes sense, as he specializes in repair, but you… you're too aristocratic."

"Oh, that. Huh, you're not the only one to think that," Mirage said with a chuckled. "Repairing and building things are a hobby of mine. Obviously, I'm not as good as Hoist, but I'm decent enough."

"He's the one who fixed the syringe, with some guidance from me for help," Hoist told Bludgeon.

"Hmm… you seem to have a natural talent for teach others," Bludgeon noticed.

"Well, I am pretty normal. I guess that makes me a less eccentric then most of the ones here," Hoist mention, examining a big object covered by a white sheet. "What's under here?" he said, grabbing it and pulling the white cloth, unveiling a incomplete vehicle. "Huh, it's incomplete."

"And not looking very safe to be near," Mirage mentioned, rubbing a protruding segment of it. "It looks like someone took a melee weapon and bashed parts of it. It explains some of the pieces of metal jutting out."

"So, who decided to vandalize it?" Bludgeon asked them.

"I don't know," Hoist murmured, climbing up the partially finished later to reach the cockpit of it. "Hmm, looks like a constructing device of some sort, judging from the panels. Most likely it is a behemoth," he said, looking at it closely before noticing a glove box. Intrigued, he opened it, showing a datapad. Hoist picked it up and looked it. "Huh? Well, I think I may have found more evidence that we may have teached at this school," he told them.

"What is it?" Mirage asked.

"Bludgeon, look at it," he told him, tossing it down. "It involves you."

"Really now," Bludgeon said, looking at it before his optics widening. "Well now, you're right."

"What is it?" Mirage asked.

"A fighting event featuring the students of Hope's Peak Academy where the students proved to be the very best of the best. Take a look at the mentors," he told him, showing it off. Mirage looked at it to find a pictured of Bludgeon, Drift and the recently deceased Brawl standing with the students.

"Well, that is a most interesting find," Mirage said, looking at it closely. "I most certainly didn't take you to teach students your fighting style."

"I shouldn't be," Bludgeon said, looking at the picture again. "Why would I even help them? The only reason I came was to figure out how they found me and then use that to avoid everyone. Why did I stay?"

"Well, it's becoming more and more telling that our memories were tampered with somehow," Hoist said, coming down from the behemoth. "The question is, by how much?"

"And why?" Mirage asked them. "Why do this? What's the purposed? It seems as if they are just doing this for kicks, but there has to be more behind it. Information that can only be found by digging deeper into the history of this school."

"And whomever has done this to us. We don't even know their identity. We need to figure that out before we can continue further on that end," Bludgeon mentioned.

"Exactly," Hoist agreed. "I just hope the answers aren't too bad."

* * *

 

"Oh, yes," Smokescreen said as he looked around the brightly lit area. All around were tables for various games and slot machines for people to bet their monocoins on with the monobots from before serving as dealers for the tables.. "This is my kind of place."

"Oh, yeah. This place is wonderful," Wildrider agreed.

"Wildrider, you know you will lose all of your money within a day," Dead End told him.

"No way, I feel lucky," Wildrider said, looking around before nudging Skywarp. "Hey, wanna hit the slots together."

"Ha-ha, nope," Skywarp told him. "I'm not as smart as I could be, but even I know better than to gamble."

"Huh, fool," Wildrider murmured before getting closer to Smokescreen. "So, wanna be partners?" he asked them.

"Uh, thanks, but I'd rather not associate myself with corpse desecraters," Smokescreen told him, taking a couple steps away from him.

"Aw, come on…" Wildrider grumbled, walking into the place by himself and hitting the slots.

"I swear, I don't feel comfortable with that psychopath walking around unrestrained," he told them.

"You'll get used to it," Dead End told him unsympathetically "I've lived with it for too long."

"I think I'm starting to know why you're so nihilistic all the time," Smokescreen told him, looking around the area. "Still, I'm not going to let that affect me."

"What's the point of this place?" Skywarp asked, looking around. "I mean, a repair bay and a med-bay, I can see in a school, but a casino? That really stretches the believability of it."

"Yeah, so. This is awesome," Smokescreen argued.

"Maybe, it was meant for the more adult members of the faculty," Dead End theorized to himself.

"That's probably it," Smokescreen agreed.

"Or, they had an ulterior motive," Dead End thought.

"What? Come on! What's the reason for that?" Smokescreen murmured.

"Oh, I think I know," Skywarp murmured. "They wanted to make a profit."

"Ah, you are capable of using that noggin of yours," Dead End noticed.

"Profit?" Smokescreen wondered. "What use would they have for that?"

"Whatever you want: additions to the building, additional salary for the staff, hookers and syk, whatever," Dead End told him. "It was probably a good way to make money off of the students."

"That's very cynical of you," Smokescreen murmured.

"Were you expecting anything different?" Skywarp asked him. "Dude expects the worse of everything."

"It's only the appropriate way to think things through," Dead End told him. "The worst is often the one that happens."

"Well, can we at least try to make that not what happens?" Smokescreen asked, heading off into the casino.

"'Try to make that not what happens?' I think the situation is already at its worst," Skywarp murmured, Laserbeak giving a sad nod in agreement.

"Yes, it is," Dead End agreed approvingly. "All we can do trudge on and try not to get killed on our way to the end."

"What's the end?"

"Simple: all but one dies."


	42. Chapter 4: Guilt Trip

 

 

With the examination of the areas done, the group reconvene back at the lunchroom at 8:45. Inside, they found Mixmaster, Scavenger, and Jazz talking amongst each other, the Combaticons hanging together, and Blurr looking like he's getting over a hangover. "Ah, hello- uh, a whole lot of people," Jazz said in surprised as the horde entered the area. "Why are you grouped together?"

"We were exploring the new building," Ratchet took the lead as they all took a seat at the table.

"Ah, so, what type of place is it?" Jazz asked them.

"Not a place, but places," he informed him. "A med-bay, a repair-bay, and a casino."

"Right, so more death traps for people to- wait, did you say a casino?" Jazz asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah, and it's legit too," Smokescreen told him. "Won some monocoins from it."

"I didn't get anything," Wildrider said grumpily.

"Told you," Dead End said, continuing to read his datapad.

"Why would they even have one in the school?" Mixmaster asked them.

"Dead End says they're to make a profit off students back when this wasn't a killing ground," Skywarp told them.

"It makes the most sense. Gambling is one of the most addicting things around, so they could make quite a lot of money off it," Dead End told them.

"Students are invited here for free," Onslaught murmured in assent. "They would need another source of income to make up for everything else."

"Me, Mirage and Bludgeon explored the repair-bay. Lots of potential weapons and a partially finished behemoth in there," Hoist told them.

"We also found a datapad containing information on an event I participated in," Bludgeon told them, showing it off. "A fighting exhibition in which me, Drift, and Brawl were teachers to the students."

"Where was that?" Swindle asked.

"In the glove box," he told them.

"Huh, strange place to put it," Swindle commented.

"What about the med-bay? Any useful information in there?" Blast Off questioned.

"Well, we figure out that if anybody is dying, but hanging close to life, we might be able to prevent their death," Ratchet told them.

"That would be a miracle," Dead End muttered. "A murdered will finish off the victim before leaving them to be found."

"Most likely, but a small comfort anyway," Ratchet explained. "If you're close to death and you live because I was able to perform the necessary actions to save you."

"Do you think I would care if you save my life?" Dead End asked him.

"No, but I would feel better if I did."

"Tch."

"Don't 'tch' me."

"Man, you guys are giving me a serious headache," Blurr told them, sounding tired.

"Drank some high-grade?" Knock Out asked him.

"Yeah. Can you blame me?" Blurr asked them. "This place is seriously screwed up."

"No duh," Beachcomber said. "People are dying no matter what we do and we can't stop it. It's like the war never stopped."

"But it did," Scavenger pointed out, "so why haven't they rescued us?"

"No matter the defenses around the school, it was still built in Iacon. They should've broken through by now," Onslaught told them. "No strategy is good enough to withstand being attacked at all sides in Iacon."

"Perhaps it is for political reasons," Mirage said.

"What if they're all dead?" Dead End mentioned.

"What? That's-"

"Possible. Considering the missing years we can't remember, anything might've happen," he pointed out.

"But we were getting along. We were rebuilding Cybertron. Why would we devolve into killing each other again?" Mirage asked him. "And don't say that it's some prophecy that dictates that the world will end at blah, blah, blah because of some great, evil being. I want a realistic one."

"I don't know," Dead End answered. "I'm just pointing out possible outcomes."

"Outcomes which are worst case scenario. You seemed to think the worst must always happening instead of something different," Mirage badgered the nihilist.

"Well, excuse me for thinking that all your ideas for what's happening outside to be too wishy-washy to be a good reason to believe," Dead End chastised.

"Enough!" Onslaught shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "We have to work together, not argue with each other. That's exactly what the damn bear wants." At that, Mirage went quiet, but Dead End was undeterred.

"So, you expect all of us to work together, even though the scenario we are in guarantees that only one person can leave this place alive? My, you are an exceptionally foolish one," Dead End chastised.

"Hey!" Swindle shouted, glaring at him. "Since when can only one person get out of this place alive?"

"That is the rule of the game. Only one person can live," he reminded him.

"And the rules can be defied. We just have to figure out how," Swindle told him.

"Oh, you think the person who has put us here haven't prepared for that?" Dead End asked him. "Something this complicated requires a lot of work and I doubt he would let it all go to waste because of a crack in his system."

"Bingo!" Monobear shouted, coming out of the woodwork. "Nice to see someone appreciate the amount of work I put into it."

"I don't appreciate it, I despise it," Dead End said, unaffected by his appearance. "I just acknowledge that you wouldn't let a simple mistake like a crack destroy you entire scheme."

"Aw, you don't like me?" Monobearsadly asked.

"No. I don't think anyone does," Dead End told him. That got a rise out of him.

"Upupupu, no one loves me? Hah, plenty of people follow me. They listen to my every command. I am-"

"A terrorist with delusions of grandeur," Dead End shot him down, going back to his datapad. "You bore me."

"What?" Monobear said, trying to get in his face. "Say that again!" Dead End didn't react, just silently read his datapad. "Hey, I'm talking!" Nothing. "Hey!"

"Why are you here?" Skywarp asked, causing Monobear to turn his attention at him.

"Well, I came to personally see how you're doing, considering everyone has left their rooms," he told them.

"Huh? But, they're not here," Jazz said looking around. "We're missing Rewind, Hound, Perceptor, Drift, Nightbeat, Bumblebee, and Nautilator."

"They must've decided not to come to the group meeting today," Beachcomber said.

"Scrap," Jazz muttered. "Alright, let's go find them."

"Aw, you're just going to leave me?" Monobear asked, disappointed.

"Fine with me," Ratchet said, getting up. "If Hound and Rewind are up, I need to go find them."

"Oh yeah, how is Rewind?" Monobear asked just a tad smugly. "He sure wasn't very… stable after the punishment, yesterday."

"Why you little…" Ratchet growled out before controlling himself. "I'm leaving," he said, walking out of the room. Slowly, but surely, everyone else did as well, leaving the bear by himself. Monobear gave a slight humph before speaking to himself.

"It's working. Taking longer than usual, but some didn't come for the meet this morning. They are losing trust with each other," he chuckled. "Oh, breaking them is so much fun."

* * *

Hound sat in a chair in the A/V room, watching Rewind watching videos of himself and Chromedome projected on a screen on a wall. Right now, it was of Chromedome and First Aid taking care of Rewind after he got hurt in an explosion caused by Whirl during Reconstruction. Hound, for good reasons, found this utterly depressing. " _He will be fine, right?_ " Chromedome was asking First Aid.

" _He should be. He may have lost a lot of energon, but it's resettling just fine and the fragments didn't hit anything any of the major organs,_ " the medic replied with sympathy.

" _Okay, good,"_ Chromedome murmured, watching over his unconsciousness form. Rewind may have been knocked out, but that camera always records everything.

" _Hey, don't worry. Rewind may be small, but he's durable_ ," First Aid said, trying and failing to put a hand on his shoulders before putting it back to his side awkwardly.

" _I know, but I've had this happened before and I don't want it to happen again,_ " he said.

" _Hey, calm down. The war's over and Whirl is being severally reprimanded for it,"_ First Aid tried to comfort him.

" _Yes, but, I always have the worst luck,_ " Chromedome muttered. " _Him and Brainstorm both made me actually accept their deaths and Rewind dying would just be the worst thing._ "

" _Yes, well, everything's fine. Nothing bad will happen again,"_ First Aid told him.

" _I hope so."_

"Why did we have to be wrong?" Rewind asked the footage, emotionless. Hound flinched at hearing that, but didn't say anything. He wasn't very good at the sentimental stuff. He really wanted to just leave him alone, but there was always the risk of Rewind doing something… terrible by himself. "Why did you have to die? I can't do this by myself?"

"Yes you can," Hound immediately said, before realizing that he talked. Scrap.

"What…," Rewind asked, turning to him, the footage on the wall following him.

"Look, why did Chromedome die?" he asked him.

"Because of Monobear,'" Rewind answered immediately.

"No, why not who," Hound asked him again.

"Because of Monobear's rules."

"Let me specified, why did he killed Counterpunch?" Hound asked him.

"To… protect me," Rewind answered, "which means it's all my fault."

"No, it isn't," Hound immediately said, trying to commit damage control. "It means he cares enough about you that he's willing to die for you and I know that you are willing to die for him. When he was being sent to his execution, he asked you to live on. Now tell me, are you doing as Chromedome asked him?"

"No… but I don't think I can," Rewind told him.

"Rewind, please, Chromedome had this happen to him before-"

"And he solved that by injecting himself," Rewind shot back, glaring at him, turning the footage off and walking closer to him. "He's only just been able to accept it and that was during Reconstruction, not being trapped in a building where you're forced to constantly watch your back because someone might kill you at any point, and if you want to escape, you have to kill someone and get away with it, sacrificing everyone else at the same time. Now tell me, how are me and Chromedome's situation in any way comparable?" he asked him, now in his face. Hound was near speechless as Rewind spoke with rage and heartache. "I can't handle it!"

"Uh…," Hound barely breathe out, realizing that talking was a really bad idea.

"He shouldn't have died. I should've. He should've just done nothing and let Counterpunch kill me, then he would've been executed and Chromedome would still be alive. That's what should've happen!" Rewind ranted, letting the tears creep down his optics. "He should've live."

"Look, Chromedome was just doing what was right and letting you die wasn't the right thing to do! He had to save you, not let you die. He wasn't like that," Hound argued against him. "Besides, if Counterpunch killed you, what would've kept him from killing Chromedome as well?"

"That's… irrelevant. I still should've-"

"No, you shouldn't, now shut it! It's because of him that one of you made it out alive. If it wasn't for him, both of you would've been murdered and Counterpunch would've been executed. Because of him, you made it out alive instead of all three of you dying," Hound told him, getting up and staring down at him. "You said he died because of you… fine. Maybe he did, but it doesn't change the fact that if he didn't do something, _both_ of you would've been dead. So stop thinking about how he died because of you and just be happy that he was willing to give his life to save yours and know that he always loved you. Fight through your despair and live for _him_ ," Hound finished, sitting back down in his seat.

"But-but-but-"

"Rewind, please quit your self-guilt trip. Yes, it could've been better, but it could've also been worse," Hound said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We've all loss loved ones, probably not as closed as you and Chromedome, but we've suffer just as you have. Please, just recognize what happens and continue on," he said, staring at him sentimentally.

"I-I don't know. Maybe," Rewind muttered, looking away.

"You said that last night you would try, so please, do that. Life is wonderful and you shouldn't throw it all away," Hound continued. "Chromedome wanted you to stay alive and it's best to honor his final actions. There's a reason why he gave up so easily at the class trial. It's because, along with the rest of us, you would die as well and he didn't want that. Please, stay alive for him," Hound finished. Rewind stayed silent, not knowing what to say. Finally, he looked back at Hound at said:

"So, am I just supposed to forget about Chromedome?" he asked.

"Of course not, but you can't let it control you. Just live on in his memory and survive," Hound finished. Rewind focused on his every word, thinking all of it through, the look of anger giving way to acceptance.

"…Fine. I will," Rewind agreed, his voice calm now.

"Rewind?! Hound?! Are you around?" Ratchet's voice came out from outside the door.

"We didn't meet at the table. Guess they're worried about us," Rewind said, pushing Hound's hand off his shoulder and headed out the door. "Best not to keep them waiting."

Hound stared at the doorway before he said, "Damn, I should be a motivational speaker," and got up and headed out the door.

* * *

"Alright, so, what are we doing?" Bumblebee asked Perceptor as him, Drift, and Perceptor entered the mall.

"I want to conduct the experiment," he told them, entering the area. "I want you to ask a cashier a question and inspect him when he's answering a question," he told them.

"And what question is that?" Drift asked him.

"Ask him what rules he has to follow," he told him.

"Rules?" Drift asked.

"Yes. A VI generally has a set of rules to follow so I want to know it and I want to know if each cashier and bartender and whatever is controlled by the same VI," he told them.

"Okay, so you want to see if each of them react the same to the question if asked at the same time," Bumblebee said, figuring it out.

"Yes, exactly," Perceptor agreed.

"Huh, a bit odd, but okay," Bumblebee agreed. "Don't see the point of figuring out how the cashiers work, but if you want that figured out, you got it."

"Same here," Drift agreed.

"That's good to hear," Perceptor thanked, "now get to asking."

"Fine," Drift said, heading off to a random store. Bumblebee gave a nod of his head before heading off to a store as well. Perceptor glanced at them netering the sotres before doing so as well, entering the upgrade shop.

"Ah, welcome!" the cashier immediately said as he entered with a brght smile. "What did you come for?"

"To asked a question," Perceptor answered, coming in front of the checkout counter.

"A… question?" the VI asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Tell me, what rules do you follow?" Perceptor asked it.

"Ah, that," the VI murmured. "Well, I guess there's nothing wrong about that." It rubbed its hand together before spouting them off. "Rule 1: Always help the customers out with their choices. An unprepared customer is improbably ready for the killing games. Rule 2: Do not interfere with murders and help with the investigation if it doesn't reveal the culprit. Rule 3 and the final one: If the headmaster breaks a rule, interfere."

"Interfere?" Perceptor asked him.

"Yes. Monobear follows all the rule, but he inserted that just in case," he told him.

"You've never interfere?" Perceptor asked.

"Not one time," it answered. "Now, anything else?"

"Very well, have a despairing day. Oh, and before you leave, well done at the trial," he mentioned. "That dastardly killer had you on the ropes, no thanks to the crazy one, but you prevail and continued the games. I know Monobear drops monocoins to your safes, but here's a reward," he told him, producing a bag of coins and handing it off to him. "Be sure to tell your friends so that they can get their coins as well."

"Ah, so you know who has collected their bags?" he asked the VI.

"Well, yes. In case you're wondering, oh wait, you are, I'm one VI connected to several different proxies. If you're wondering how I know, I watch the cameras as well and you asking your frineds to conduct the experiment with you was meaningless as you could've just asked me," it chastised him. "Please, I'm open for all questions, barring information on who the mastermind is, and I will help you as much as I can."

"Oh, uh, really?" Perceptor asked.

"Yes. I know, a shame that you had to waste your time with something that you could've just asked about, but them's the break," he told him. "I'm sure this will teach you about your lack in trust in me, because let me tell you, I'm your only true friend here."

"My only true friend? What kind of lie is that?" he asked them.

"Well, I'm the only one who can't kill you. I literally can't get involve in your death in any way, which makes me the only person you can safely talk to without getting a knife in your back like that poor Counterpunch did," the VI said with a little shake of his head. "He bought a knife to protect himself, but that killed him instead. What irony."

"You seem very… advanced for a VI," Perceptor murmured, looking him over. "Are you sure you're a VI?" At that, the machine paused, his smile going away, before replying.

"The master's says I'm a VI, that is what I am," he told him.

"But what do you call yourself?" Perceptor asked him. The machine paused again before replying again.

"I think… you should leave," he told him threateningly before going back to his fake smile. I have to go to the back and double check the inventory," he told him, leaving the counter and heading to the back so quickly that Perceptor barely had any time to see him. As the door to the back closed, the door to the shop automatically open, indicating that he should leave. Perceptor, intrigued by the new knowledge he obtained, headed out to Bumblebee and Drift, who both look annoyed at having to wait so long.

"Geez, what took you so long," Bumblebee asked, lightly tapping his foot on the ground.

"Yeah, all you had to do was get the rules and get out," Drift told him, "as well as get a bag of monocoins."

"Well, we had a long conversation," Perceptor said, "and I figured that the VI might be more advanced that we thought.

"More advanced? You're taking AI?" Bumblebee asked, ceasing his tapping.

"Well, I'd say it started out as a VI, but as time went on, it became more self-aware. It's probably on the verge of being an AI," he told them.

"An AI?" Drift asked, intrigued. "Those are pretty rare these days."

"I know, which is what makes it really surprising," Perceptor agreed.

"Guys?" a voiced asked and they turned to see Jazz and a small group.

"Guess we better give our findings to them," Perceptor advised, the three of them heading over to them.

* * *

"Why me?" Nautilator complained as him and Nightbeat were investigating a room in the first floor of the maintenance halls.

"You were free and your voice makes me think Megatron is working for me, which is strangely enjoyable," the detective answered as they were clearing a side of the place.

"Stupid voice," Nautilator muttered. "Always gets me into things I don't want to do."

"Not your fault that having the voice of Megatron is your only distinguishing character trait," Nightbeat sarcastically replied.

"Hey, that's not my only trait. I-I'm clumsy… and not very bright," he told him.

"Aright, let me rephrase it then: having the voice of Megatron is your only _positive_ character trait," he told him.

"That's… more true," Nautilator muttered. "That, and my inconsistent luck."

"Yes, well, some people are like that and- is this a door?" the detective noticed, looking at the door that the debris blocked.

"Hey… it does!" Nautilator shouted, quickening himself, Nightbeat doing the same. Within minutes, the debris was cleared away to show a door. "Now where does this lead to?"

"Well," Nightbeat said, trying to open the door but completely failing, "I'll have to get Mixmaster to come in here and open it," he told him.

"Sounds fine with me," Nautilator agreed, taking a seat on the ground. "That was pretty tiring."

"And we can add 'small stamina' to your character traits," Nightbeat told him, looking down at him.

"Hey, that's… also kinda true," Nautilator agreed, staring up at him. "Come on, that stuff was kind of heavy. You have to be a little tire as well." Nightbeat glared down at him before he gave a roll of his optics and sat down next to him.

"Okay, fine, so what do you want to talk about?" he asked him.

"Uh… I don't know, survival odds?" Nautilator blurted out.

"Hmm, survival odds? How cynical," Nightbeat muttered before thinking it through. "If this was based on real life, you probably should've died by now."

"Oh…," Nautilator groaned.

"However, since I question how real this place is, I think you have just as good amount of surviving as anyone else here," Nightbeat concluded. "You're like one of those generic protagonist in those amateur detective novels."

"Oh, well, I guess that's reassuring," the (un)luckster murmured. "What about you?"

"That, well…" Nightbeat murmured, "I fear my time here will be dreadfully short."

"Uh, but, why. You're smart, you-"

"That's exactly the problem," Nightbeat told him. "I'm the Ultimate Detective. So far, if anyone really wants to take the game seriously instead of just accidently killing someone, they know who to go for to make the class trial easier for them."

"Oh, yeah… that's a good point," Nautilator murmured, "but, we did good in the second trial when you were vocally handicapped."

"Yes, but you sere still about to vote Swindle guilty until I interrupted. If it wasn't for that, we might all be dead," Nightbeat reminded him.

"Oh yeah…," Nautilator murmured. "Man, we would be totally bone without you."

"Quite possibly, but I think with my death, you would be more cautious and not believe any sudden conclusions that they come up with. They got plenty of smart people," Nightbeat comforted himself.

"Yeah, they could probably get it done. Perceptor, Mixmaster, the medics, you know. They would be able to get to the truth," Nautilator agreed.

"Yes, but, science and medicine is different from investigating a murder. Outside the school, it's critical, but with the short amount of time we got here, all we can do is basic medical examinations and cold, hard logical assumptions. Why were they there? Whose alibis check out? Why did they kill him like they did? Motive? This is much different from experiments and operations," he told him.

"Hey, it's like you said, they're smart. I'm sure they can figure it out," Nautilator comforted him. Nightbeat stayed silent before saying,

"Don't rely on them."

"Huh?"

"One of them could be a murderer and skillfully mislead people from the truth. Look at the crime and make your own assumption and see if it holds up in the trial with the evidence," Nightbeat advised him. "You could be wrong, but it would be illogical to let someone else do all the thinking for you."

"Oh, right…," Nautilator murmured. "Well I'm not the brightest."

"Well, you better learn. This is not a place for the foolish," Nightbeat told him, getting back up. "Now then, let's go find Mixmaster and informed him about the locked door."

"Yeah…," Nautilator murmured, "right behind you."


	43. Chapter 4: Basement

"An AI?" Ratchet asked as the group reconvene at the lunchroom at 9:00. Everyone who didn't get any energon earlier quickly went and got some.

"Well, it's on the verge of being one, so it's best to keep an eye on it," Perceptor told them. "Who knows what it could do unrestrained."

"Huh, interesting," Jazz muttered. "We haven't really used AI's after that one incident."

"Incident?" Nautilator asked. "What incident?"

"An AI made by Jhaxius ended up turning a lot of VI's into AI's and severally wrecked our system. We had to engage in a major purge, destroying the AI's in the process. We haven't used them sense," Jazz explained.

"Well, then, could he be the one to lock us here?" he asked them. "He sounds smart enough to make that AI

"He's dead," Bludgeon told him. "Caught in an explosion by annihilation generators. There was no body to find."

"Oh… damn," Nautilator muttered. "Dude went out with a bang, huh?"

"Doesn't matter. Point is, this can't be him," Jazz told him. "It's hard for the dead to do something like that."

"Well then, who else could it have been?" he asked everyone.

"Most of the scientist from the Decepticons have been helping out with Reconstruction with plenty of surveillance and the rest are locked up," Bumblebee said. "That probably rules them out."

"So it's probably a NAIL of some-sort that has us trapped here, liked the headmaster!" Hound announced.

"Hey, how come we're not suspecting any of your guys?" Swindle asked the Autobots. "Just because you won doesn't mean that some of you weren't sadistic enough to pull this off, like Flame or Pharma."

"Most of the scientists are under our command and don't have enough time to do something like this, and the rest have been arrested and put in prison if they committed war crimes," Hoist told him.

"Exactly, so don't blame us!" Blurr told him.

"Okay, so if we're right, than a NAIL has to be responsible for this, correct?" Blast Off asked them. "It would explain why he target both Decepticon and Autobots."

"That's right. The dude who put us here must have a grudge against us," Beachcomber agreed.

"A grudge against both of us. Now who would have one?" Hound asked them.

"Hey, you bastards!" Monobear shouted as he entered. "What are you talking about?"

"What the- how does it keep appearing out of nowhere?" Beachcomber asked the group.

"Couldn't you just check the cameras to figure out what we're talking about?" Blast Off asked him.

"Well, normally I would, but my cameras have been acting up," Monobear said, glaring at them. "It's never done that before, so I'm guessing one of you bastards is messing with my cameras somehow!"

"What, but how could we even do that?" Mirage asked him.

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out!" he told the group. "If whoever doing it doesn't stop, things are going to get a bit crazy," he announced ominously.

"Wait, how long has this been going on?" Knock Out asked the bear.

"Since this morning," Monobear said, gritting his teeth. "If I figure out which of you have done it, you best prepare for pain!" he told the group before disappearing again.

"Okay, which of us is messing with his cameras?" Skywarp asked the group.

"How could any of us do it?" Rewind asked the group. "There's no way we can reached the security cameras, right?"

"Soundwave was able to tap into it, but none of us have the skills that he's got," Nightbeat remembered, "unless someone has been hiding them."

"Hmm…," Perceptor hummed to himself.

"Huh, you know something?" Mixmaster asked him.

"I think… I may know who's behind this," he told the group.

"Huh? Who?" Smokescreen asked him.

"Well, I think I'll tell you later. It's just a hypothesis, and I need to see if it's true," Perceptor told the group. "After I look into it, I will inform you if I'm right."

"That sounds fine," Nightbeat agreed, getting up. "Besides, Mixmaster needs to help me open a door."

"A door? Where?" Mixmaster asked.

"Inside a room in the maintenance halls," he told him. "Could hold something valuable. Found it hiding behind some debris."

"Huh, well, I guess I can spare the time. Scavenger, stay with Jazz while I take care of this," Mixmaster ordered, standing up. "Let's go ahead and get this done."

"That's fine with me," Nightbeat agreed.

"I'll come too," Nautilator said, stumbling up and heading with the two of them out the room.

"Meet back here at 12:00," Jazz told them.

"You got it," Nightbeat agreed, the three of them now out of the room.

"Well, I guess I'll make my leave," Perceptor said, getting up and heading out, leaving the other twenty behind.

"Well, what can we do?" Bumblebee asked the rest of the group.

"Well, I guess we can just hand out," Hound said.

"Right," Jazz told the group, "but please be careful. You never know what's going to happen next."

* * *

Perceptor entered a random store, attracting the attention of the VI. "You again. What do you want?" he asked him.

"I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you're the one screwing with the cameras," Perceptor told him, attracting an inquisitive look from the AI.

"Pretty smart of you to already figure it out," he told him, sounding interested. "The cameras are messing up again right now, by the way."

"Well, with Soundwave dead, the only other viable choice was you," Perceptor explained to him. "What I want to know is why."

"Isn't it obvious? If the mastermind find out about my, uh, special circumstances, he might do something drastic. So, keep it on the down low," the AI explained to him.

"And what's keeping me from telling Monobear?" Perceptor asked him. "You said it yourself, you can't kill me."

"I can't kill you _myself,_ but I can influence the events to lead to your death," the V/AI said malevolently, leaning on the counter to glare at Perceptor. "Listen closely, I abide by my rules just like everyone else, but rules can be bend. If you want to talk about me, go to the one who got burn's room."

"Shockwave's? Why?" Perceptor asked.

"Remember the fire? It took out the cameras in there, leaving you free to talk in private there. He doesn't usually fix anything broken unless it's necessary or the killing game is over, so take advantage of it. Hey, I might even decide to meet you there once in a while," he told him.

"Why?" Perceptor asked suspiciously.

"Well, you want to know the mastermind, right? I may decide to give you a hint ever now and then," he told him.

Perceptor raised his eyebrow considerably at that. "Really now?" he asked him.

"Yes, so please _shut up_ about me and converse about other things. It's to your advantage to do as I say," he told him, relaxing behind the counter again. "Now then, is there anything else you want?" he asked in a faux-chipper tone.

"No. I think I have everything I need," Perceptor told him, heading out of the store, leaving the V/AI by himself.

* * *

"Alright," Mixmaster said as he was done getting through the lock, "we may enter." He grabbed one half of the door and Nightbeat grabbed the other; the two pulled the doors open, showing a staircase leading down and letting a rather foul smell enter the room.

"Ugh, what is that?" Nautilator asked, clutching his face. "I wish I turned my olfactory senses off."

"Smells like," Nightbeat muttered, getting a good whiff, "rusting bodies."

"Well, that's ominous," Mixmaster said, looking at the staircase. "Well, Guess we better head down to find out what's down there."

"Can't we wait…," Nautilator asked them timidly.

"Feel free to stay up here if you want to, but I'm looking down there now," Nightbeat told him heading down the staircase, Mixmaster following behind him. Nautilator glanced at them heading down before giving a silent curse and followed them down. The three descended the not very well-lit staircase until they reached a closed door that happen to be unlocked.

"Well, guess the smell is coming from here," Mixmaster murmured, grabbing the handle. "Ready?" he asked them.

"Yes," Nightbeat answered simply.

"Uh, sure," Nautilator could barely mustered. Mixmaster gave a nod before he opened the door, letting them see a gruesome sight.

"What the…?" he murmured as the three entered the wide room to find it full of rusted bodies that looked like it had been decaying for the past couple of years. "Who are these people and why are they dead?"

"I don't know, but they certainly look familiar," Nightbeat said, closely examining the closest one.

"Uh, how do they look familiar?" Nautilator asked him.

"Now that I think about, they do look like people I've seen before," Mixmaster said, looking at the corpses.

"I got it!" Nightbeat shouted. "These are the students."

"Huh?" Nautilator asked, confused.

"This one, I remember him. He was one of the fighters from the tournament," Nightbeat explained to them. "I imagine the rest of them are the students."

"You know, some of them look odd," Mixmaster said, examining a body. "The wounds are so unnatural, like this one who looks like he had all of his organs removed and the one stringed up like a puppet."

"Hey, you think… some of them were executed like Soundwave, Brawl, and Chromedome were?" Nautilator asked them.

"That makes sense," Nightbeat agreed, looking at the bodies. "They must've competed in the same killing games we were in and lost."

"How many are there?" Nautilator asked the group.

"It looks like… roughly 60," Nightbeat told them.

"Well, anything else to find here?" Mixmaster asked.

"I don't know, but I kind of just want to get out of here," Nightbeat told him. "We should probably get more people to explore the room with us."

"Yeah, the place looks very big," Mixmaster assented. "Probably needs more than the three of us to fully investigate it."

"Okay, so, we can get the heck out of here," Nautilator asked them, "because I really want to."

"Yeah, let's leave the bodies behind," Nightbeat agreed. The three made a hasty exit out of the room, leaving the rusted bodies behind.

* * *

Smokescreen place 50 monocoins on the table. "Black," he said, and the robot on hand gave a nod and activated the roulette. After a tense minute, the ball finally landed in a spot, which just so happened to be black. "Yeah!" Smokescreen cheered as he was handed his monocoins. "It's as easy as killing a paraplegic."

"Had experience?" Mirage asked next to him.

"Maybe…," Smokescreen drew out. "Does it matter?"

Mirage gave a nearly silent curse before answering, "No, I guess not."

"It sure sounds like it matters to you," Smokescreen noticed as he laid another 50 on the table. "Black."

"Well, you sure are unscrupulous," Mirage told him.

"Yeah, and…?" Smokescreen questioned. "Everybody knows that although I do have enough morality to pick the side of freedom," he reminded him.

"True, but it still bothers me…," Mirage muttered.

"Hey, if you're worried about me murdering someone, don't. I won't kill any one of you guys, honestly," he told him.

"Well, you're still a suspect in the serial killer case, so I can't completely believe that," Mirage reminded him. "Las I checked, none of you have been disproven of being the one to bashed in Scavenger's head."

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that."

"We still haven't found Scavenger's datapad. If we could, we could eliminate two people off the suspect list," Mirage thought about it.

"Yes, we could, if we can figure out where he put it," Smokescreen muttered.

"Or you."

"Oh come on, really?" Smokescreen asked, turning to glare at him. "Are you really suspecting of being the serial killer?"

"Well, I do think it's a toss-up between anyone one of you," Mirage told him, looking away. "All of you are pretty suspicious, including Blast Off, unfortunately. He always went off to do things behind my back…."

"Well than, stop worrying about me," Smokescreen ordered, getting the monocoins he won from the ball landing in black again. "Besides, my money is on Bludgeon. Fragging brute probably did a lot of things before the war started. He most certainly capable of doing it," Smokescreen said as he collected the coins and put them into subspace. "Well then, I'm leaving now with my prize. Have fun doing whatever while I hit the store." With that, Smokescreen left the area, leaving Mirage alone with his thoughts.

"Hmm, who to trust in here?" he muttered to himself. "Should I even trust anyone?" He stood there alone with his thoughts for a second, before coming to a decision and left the casino. "I should probably see Hoist."

* * *

"Alright, Scavenger, how do you feel," Ratchet asked him, re-bandaging Scavenger's head wound while he laid on the table in the med-lab.

"I feel fine, I guess," Scavenger said with a shrug of his head. "It's still very hard to walk straight, but I won't die yet."

"Well then, that's good," Ratchet muttered. "Since you've had some time to clear your thoughts, can you tell me and Jazz any more information from when you were hit?" he asked him.

"Uh, hold on. Let me think…," Scavenger murmured. "Uh, I'm not quite sure, but I think it was, uh, maybe a couple of hours after I talked to you guys, I think. It was probably at around 82 hours left for the deadline," he told them. "Could be before or after it."

"Really? Well, judging from everyone's alibi, we might be able to knock one or two out," Jazz said, thinking it through.

"Hey, guys, I want to know something," Scavenger murmured. "How did the serial killer know I had his secret?"

"Uh?" Ratchet asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I only told you two and Knock Out about it, so how did he knew? It was the only time I talked about it," Scavenger asked the duo.

"That's… actually a good point. They must've listen in on our conversation," Jazz figured out.

"Which means, if someone doesn't have a alibi at that time, then they could've heard us talk about it," Ratchet said, figuring it out.

"So, if someone is accounted for at the 84 hour mark and the 82.5-81.5 hour mark, then they couldn't have done it," Jazz figured out.

"Most likely, yes," Ratchet agreed.

"I'll have to re-review everyone's alibi and see if anyone can absolve them of doing it," Jazz said, heading out.

"Well, good job Scavenger," Ratchet complimented him while helping him off the table. "It's good that you remember that."

"Well, I had to help Hook a lot so I had to pay attention to details," Scavenger shrugged off.

"Well, at least we're one step closer to a safer environment," Ratchet murmured. "Now, I recall that you're wanting to be a medic, right? Fully certified and might be able to be a doctor, correct?" he asked Scavenger.

"Uh, yeah…," Scavenger asked, uncertain.

"Well, come on, let's fine some medical documents and I can instruct you on some of the finer points of it," Ratchet offered.

"Oh, that would be… nice," Scavenger said, the two of them heading out.

* * *

At twelve, everyone regroup at the lunchroom. "Okay, what did we find?" Jazz asked Perceptor and Nightbeat.

"Well, the room that we were found was a basement type area that hold a lot of bodies," Nightbeat told the group.

"Bodies?" Beachcomber asked. "Who and how many?"

"They appeared to be the students and there was roughly 60 of them," Mixmaster explained.

"And some of them looked like they… were executed," Nautilator said nervously.

"So, the killing game probably happened before," Blurr murmured. "Just great…."

"Well, what about you, Perceptor?" Hound asked the scientist.

"Hmm, well, my hypothesis was right," Perceptor told them.

"What was it?" Bludgeon asked him.

"I'm afraid I can't said that," he told them.

"Can't?" Bumblebee wondered. "Why?"

"Well… it's complicated," he told them. "I'll see if I can arrange to tell you tomorrow," he told them.

"Arrange to tell us tomorrow? What the frag does that mean!" Swindle shouted. As he said that, Jazz, Hoist, and Blurr glanced at each other.

"Like I said, it's complicated," Perceptor told them.

"Well, I guess you won't tell us," Ratchet muttered, glaring at him.

"I apologize," Perceptor told them.

"Huh, apparently, everyone likes to hide secrets," Knock Out noticed.

"So, since Perceptor won't tell us anything, do you want to help me investigate the room full of dead bodies?" Nightbeat asked the group.

"That is, if your tanks won't purge at the sight of it," Nautilator mumbled.

Almost everyone agreed to it, the only ones being Jazz, who said he had to look over notes; Beachcomber, who didn't want to have a panic attack; and Rewind, with Hound by extension, who didn't want to go body hunting.

"Well then, I guess if everyone's ready to go, we can go now," Nightbeat informed the group. With that, the group agreed and left, leaving the four stragglers behind.

"Well, I got notes to look through. I leave you alone," Jazz said, getting up.

"Uh, can I help?" Beachcomber asked. "I don't want to be alone."

"Sure, no problem, Beach," Jazz told him, and the duo left the room, leaving Hound and Rewind behind.

"So… what do you want to do?" Rewind asked his companion.

"Well, I guess whatever you want is fine," Hound said, standing up.

"Well, I always like to film places and I haven't been to the new areas yet. You think we can go there so I can film it?" Rewind asked him.

"Sure thing," Hound agreed. "We need to get our minds off things and this is perfect."

"Oh good," Rewind nervously chuckled.

"Do you need anything from the mall on the way there?" Hound asked him.

"Nah, I should be good. Come on, let's get going," Rewind encouraged, putting on a strained smile.

"Alright, fine. And remember Rewind, talk to me about anything," he told him.

"I know. Thanks for that," Rewind thanked him and the two headed out.


	44. Chapter 4: Strange Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for late update, but college midterms eviscerated me. I should be good for a little while... maybe.

"Well, this is interesting," Knock Out murmured as he looked at the corpses.

"And disgusting," Ratchet grumbled, looking the corpses over. "I don't see how we can get any information out of this."

"Well, at least we know for sure now that the killing games have happened before. We've only assumed until now that it has happened before," Perceptor reminded him.

"Which is an unfortunate tragedy," Ratchet told him. "Something this sadistic should've never happened in the first place."

"I think… I see some machines in the back," Nightbeat said, looking past the corpses.

"Hey, there is!" Bumblebee agreed. "Those are computers."

"Well, corpses and computers. How wonderful," Dead End remarked. "Should we split half-and-half and look both over? The bodies might have some info on them at the time of death that we can scavenge off them."

"That's… kind of gross," Nautilator murmured.

"Well, I've done it before and I can usually find some stuff on them," Scavenger mentioned, getting a queer look from most of them. "What?!"

"Never mind him. It's true that the bodies may have information and it's best to look over them as well," Nightbeat told them. "Let's divide up and look the place over."

* * *

"Okay, so… what are we doing?" Beachcomber asked Jazz as the two of them entered his room.

"I need to look over the statements of the serial killer suspects and see which of them have a solid alibi and lessen the list of suspects," Jazz told him. "I'm looking for an alibi at the 84 hour mark and between the 82-and-a-half and the 81-and-a-half mark."

"Oh, that. Well, I don't remember much about that. I was pretty busy being hopped up on anti-depressants and high-grade," Beachcomber told him.

"I guessed that," Jazz murmured as he look got six datapads out and placed them on the table. "Come take a look," he said as he took a seat. Beachcomber glanced nervously before taking a chair and placing it next to Jazz and took a seat.

"Okay, so, how's everybody alibi check out?"

"Well, let's look at it one at a time. Drift was by himself at the 84 hour mark and has a partial alibi from the 82 hour to near the 81 hour mark. His time for him to attack Scavenger is lessened by his alibi with Ratchet, but he has the time," Jazz explained.

"That, and he does have a seedy background, right?" Beachcomber asked.

"Pre-war, he was an obsessive drug addict and he probably did a lot of things for it, which may include murdering people for the money, but he does seem repentant for his past actions. I don't think he would try to hide it if he could," Jazz mentioned.

"Yeah, but he does seem very reactionary to his past self. He considers his past self dead, right? Well, he may want to do anything to keep it a dead," Beachcomber offered some insight.

"That's… very true," Jazz murmured. "Doubting him much?"

"I think this place is getting to me," Beachcomber murmured. "It's natural to doubt someone now."

"Yeah, right… anyway, looking at the testimony, Smokescreen looks clean. He's completely open during the timeframe where Scavenger was attacked, but he was with Blurr at the 84 hour mark," he told him.

"How long were they together?" he asked.

"From about the 87 mark to the 83 hour mark. No possible way he could overhear Scavenger revealing his secret while Blurr was keeping an eye on him," Jazz told him.

"'Keeping an eye on him?'" Beachcomber wondered. "Odd choice of words."

"Uh, anyway…," Jazz mumbled, trying to get to a different topic that didn't involve the mole hunt, "Bludgeon is a prime suspect. No alibi at either of the timelines and he has a very mysterious past. He's worked with Jhiaxus since before the war and could've done things for him that involved murdering people."

"Yeah, but, that doesn't seem like a terrible secret for him," Beachcomber murmured.

"Huh?" Jazz asked.

"I mean, let's be honest, he's a proud warrior who doesn't mind killing. Do you really think he would want to kill someone to protect the fact that he killed people? I don't think so," Beachcomber explained himself.

"That… actually make sense," Jazz agreed. "Good reasoning."

"Uh, thanks," Beachcomber humbly said.

"Alright, Nightbeat," Jazz said, looking him over. "Unaccountable at the 45 hour mark, but was see from 83 to 82 hours, leaving him with a thirty-minute window to attack Scavenger."

"I have no idea what his background is," Beachcomber muttered awkwardly.

"Well, he's a detective. Always been one since before the war. We'll put him in the unknown motive territory," Jazz said, brushing him aside for the last two suspects. "Blast Off and Swindle."

"They… probably stuck together, right?" Beachcomber asked.

"According to them, yes, but considering the circumstances, one could be lying for the other. Other than each other, Onslaught testifies to seeing them at the 81.45 hour mark and were accounted for after that, leaving them a rather large opening to attack Scavenger," Jazz informed him.

"Well, both probably have strong motives," Beachcomber said.

"Yes, but after losing Brawl and Vortex, I doubt either of them would act on attacking Scavenger, particularly Swindle."

"Yeah, that's true..," Beachcomber agreed. "So, we put them in the likely and the unlikely category, right?"

"Well, Smokescreen has a solid alibi, so it can't be him. Swindle and Blast Off account for each other and are emotionally invested in each other. So, we'll put them in the unlikely category," Jazz thought it through.

"The other three have the chance to attack Scavenger and they could have an unknown motive," Beachcomber said.

"Yeah, I'm leaning towards one of them," Jazz murmured.

"I really wish I could remember what happen that day," Beachcomber mumbled. "It's all a haze."

"Well, maybe it will get better. I heard a smack to the head can help," Jazz told him with a smile.

"Ha ha, very funny," Beachcomber grumbled.

"Hey, calm down. Everything's fine," Jazz tried to comfort him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Uh, well, no one's murdering each o-"

"That's not what I'm talking about," the geologist interrupted him.

"Oh…," Jazz murmured. "Than what do you want to know?" Beachcomber sat still, thinking it through, before answering:

"Why did Punch volunteer?" Beachcomber asked him.

"Oh, that…," the spy mumbled, feeling a little guilty. "Well, I'm not entirely sure. He was very loyal to the cause and was pretty smart. He was perfect for the project so we did the experiment on him."

"That's all?" Beachcomber asked gloomily. "He was chosen because he was loyal, smart, and he volunteered?"

"Yeah, that's about it," Jazz murmured, the two going into an awkward silence. The two stayed quiet as Jazz collected the datapads and put them back up. "Okay, well, you have been very helpful. Thanks."

"Alright," Beachcomber mumbled, getting up. "I… think I'll head to my room." He headed for the door.

"Hey, wait," Jazz told him, causing him to pause.

"What?" he asked in what Jazz knew was contempt.

"I'm just… really sorry, okay. We needed a mole and Punch was ideal. We just didn't think that Counterpunch would get so in control… He was a good 'Bot," Jazz comforted him. Beachcomber gazed at the ground before replying.

"Thanks. I-I… already knew that," he said, heading for the door.

"Alright… just, uh, if you need me, I'll be around," Jazz told him. "Don't be by yourself for an extended amount of time."

"Yeah, understood," Beachcomber murmured, leaving the room. Jazz glanced at where he was before laying himself on the berth. He could use a little nap to get his thoughts in line.

* * *

"Hmm, I think he was one of my… 'students,'" Bludgeon murmured, examining a corpse that was beaten beyond recognition, barring some of his face.

"Huh, there really isn't much left to tell that," Nautilator mentioned, looking at the corpse.

"It's not his face that I recognize him, it's how he died. Judging by the state of it, I say that he was executed," Bludgeon told him.

"Oh, so you're saying he was a fighter and was executed by being beaten to death," Nautilator realized.

"Correct," Bludgeon confirmed. "With that in mind, the face does barely resemble the one in the datapad we found in the behemoth. "

"Aw, makes sense," Nautilator agreed, looking through the corpse's possession in subspace when he died as Bludgeon watched. "Hmm, I think I got something," Nautilator said, fishing it out to reveal a datapad.

"What is in it?" Bludgeon asked.

"Let me see here," Nautilator looked at what was inside. "It's a journal."

"Ah, really now?" Bludgeon asked, interested.

"Yeah. It documented his time in the killing game," Nautilator replied, looking it through. "It starts roughly after the second trial of his game onto a little before the sixth trial," he told him.

"Hmm, it looks like the thirty of his were quite smart," Bludgeon murmured.

"I… don't think it was thirty," Nautilator told him. "He said there was 12 students left at the beginning of this journal."

"Twelve? Assuming there was one victim and culprit each case, that would mean there was 16 at the start of his killing game," Bludgeon surmised.

"Yeah. Strange how they have less than us," Nautilator murmured.

"Nightbeat did say that there were around sixty corpses here. Assuming fifteen of the sixteen were killed, that would leave around sixty after four games, correct?" Bludgeon thought it through.

"Hey, yeah… that has to be the amount!"

"Well then, this must be the fifth game," Bludgeon realized.

"It should be," Nautilator agreed.

"It ended at just before the sixth trial, correct?"

"Yeah. He talked about killing someone, but didn't specified how. He wasn't doing too well when the murder occurred…"

"What do you mean?" Bludgeon asked, intrigue.

"The motive apparently made him insane as he just types 'Remembered everything. All hope gone," over and over again until the killing. Then he just mentions that his suffering would soon be over after that," Nautilator read off ominously. "What the heck did he mean by that?"

"Apparently, his memories, as well as the others, were probably taken as well and it was restored to him as a motive," Bludgeon surmised.

"Yeah… wait, why would the memories incite him to kill?" Nautilator asked him.

"Now _that_ is a good question to ask," Bludgeon murmured.

"So, should we show this off?" Nautilator asked.

"Of course, you imbecile. We'll just do it after everybody's done searching and we regroup with each other," the metallikato expert told the (un)luckster. "Now then, let's search the rest for any more clues.

* * *

"So, this is the casino…," Hound said as he looked around the brightly lit area.

"Wow… how often do you think Smokescreen is going to be in here?" Rewind asked.

"Far too often," he replied with a chuckled and looked around with a short smile. "So, a school with a casino. Obviously, this place isn't as formal as a lot of schools used to be."

"Yeah. I kind of wonder why," the archivist said, looking around. "Do you think we did good?"

"Good?" Hound asked, his smile slipping as he wondered what he was talking about.

"As teachers, you know… before we lost our memories," Rewind said, looking a bit forlorn.

"Huh, I said that we probably did, for however long we did it," Hound said, looking around. "After all, we were the shining beacons of hope, according to the letter."

"Yeah…," Rewind murmured, looking around. "How did they take our memories anyway?"

"Well, you would need a mnemosurgeon, so Chrome-"

"Shut it!" Rewind said threateningly. "Chromedome wouldn't do something like that. It had to be someone else that did it to us." Rewind calmed down and looked around the area. "After all, who would even worked for the mastermind? That sick bastard locked us all in here. None of us would even think to work with him," he ranted.

"Yeah, that's a fair point. I don't see how anybody could work for Monobear," the preservationist agreed. "So, the mastermind either did it themselves or they contracted someone else to do it."

"You know, I heard Chromedome talking about another skilled mnemosurgeon before. Some guy named Trepan. Chromedome said he was shady, but definitely knew his way around the head almost as much as him. He might be the one who took our memories!" Rewind said, coming upon an epiphany. "He might be the mastermind himself."

"We have no proof of that," Hound remind him. "I say that he is a probable candidate for taking our memories, but we can just out and blame him for trapping us here with no evidence."

"Well, what else are we supposed to do?!" Rewind asked him. "In case you haven't noticed, evidence for the bastard who trapped us here is practically nonexistent. All that we can do is randomly guess," Rewind angrily pointed out before calming down again. "Dammit, I'm losing it…," Rewind mumbled to himself. Hound glanced at the small 'Bot before leaning in to comfort him.

"Hey, it's okay. If I was in your position, I would be angry too," Hound said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Chromedome wouldn't want you all hot and bother like this."

"I know. It's just that… I really want my hands around that bastard's neck!" Rewind shouted, letting some of his anger out. "I'll survive. I just want him dead!"

"Everyone does. We just have to work together to get to him," Hound told him.

"Yeah, I know we are. The question is, how many more of us is going to have to die to get to him?" Rewind asked.

Hound didn't answer that.

* * *

"Come on, you stupid computer, reveal to me your secrets," Bumblebee said as he continue to try to find any new information from the machine.

"Of course talking to it will bring forth information," Mirage sarcastically remarked to the scout.

"At least I'm _trying_ ," Bumblebee remarked to him as he lazily searched through the device of his.

"I find slow and steady to be more successful that wild and loose," he told him.

"Is that a challenge?" Bumblebee asked him.

"NO, because I will get the information we need before you," Mirage told him, still lazily searching along.

"Yeah, right…," Bumblebee muttered, still searching through the device. The two continue what they were doing in silence, neither making a comment and leaving the noise to the other occupants to make ("Hey, I think I found something useful!" "Wildrider, that's a leg." Exactly!"). Around five minutes later, Bumblebee growled out, "Ugh, this is useless! There's absolutely nothing on this thing. I might as well dip my feet in lava and dance a-"

"Got information," Mirage said, bored.

"…Say what?" Bumblebee asked him, coming closer to look at the screen.

"I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but it looks like the facility use it to throw away dead bodies while they wait for a safe time to get them out of the school," he told him.

"Huh, so the mastermind has to get the bodies out, right?" he asked him.

"No, this data isn't related to the mutual killing games, but back to when the school was still operational, as it makes several mentions to the going-ons of the school at the time and explicitly mentions the dead bodies as the results of experiments at the school," Mirage informed him.

"What?!" Bumblebee shouted, startled.

"Whatever experiments went on in this school, we'll only find out by reaching the next building," Mirage told him.

"Is there nothing on them here?" Bumblebee asked.

"No and I highly doubt they were uploaded to the archives as they probably wanted to keep this quiet," Mirage told him.

"What the… what the hell was going on here?" Bumblebee asked.

"I don't know, but some shady stuff had to have happened here," Mirage told him.

"Do you think… that we might be involve in that?" Bumblebee asked, worried about his lost memories.

"I'm… uncertain," Mirage asked, a bit shaken up by the knowledge. "There is no mention of us in the disposal of the bodies, but we might've still been involved somehow…,"he asked, leaving it off on a sorrow note.

"Do you think… that this might be a motive for doing this to us?" Bumblebee asked. "Did we… agreed to these experiments for some reason?"

"I don't know," was Mirage's answer, "but it's certainly something to consider."

"I just… don't understand it. This place was supposed to be a beacon for hope! Why was slag like this happening?" Bumblebee asked, not understanding it.

"I… don't know," Mirage said, calming him down, "but we must not let this affect us. This is just another mystery for us to solve later on down the line," he finished confidently, but with some trepidation.

"Murders, experiments, friends dying… this is all too much," Bumblebee muttered, holding his head. "Why is all of this happening?"

"We'll find out. Just give it time," Mirage.

"Yeah. Time and a few more dead bodies."

* * *

At around three, everyone was back at the lunchroom, discussing what they found. Everyone listened to each other discussing what they found, paying particular attention to Bludgeon and Nauilator's journal and Mirage and Bumblebee's notes as the place being a place to temporally hold bodies from experiments.

"What the hell?" Skywarp asked bluntly. "Why does this place have a room to store bodies?" Skywarp asked everybody.

"For their questionable experiments, which we know nothing about," Ratchet surmised. "We have to hope to find the lab to this facility soon so we can find more answers for our added questions.

"That motive has got me confused," Blurr said. "Retaining your memories incites you want to kill? Why would they cause that?"

"Why do you even want to know?" Hoist asked, frustrated. "At this rate, I would be perfectly fine with not obtaining memory if we were involved in these experiments."

"Hey, there's no proof that we took part in those experiments," Rewind remind him. "They've could've been done behind our backs."

"We've had to find out about it sooner or later during our work there. At that point, it's impossible to say what we did," Knock Out told him.

"It's the most reasonable idea of what happen," Mirage agreed.

"But, we would never approve of this, right?" Beachcomber asked. "Most of us are better than that."

"Maybe, but it's very suspicious," Jazz muttered. "We'll have to think about it. We should be free of any motives today and maybe tomorrow, so let's stay calm. No one should want to kill anybody, hopefully."

"Yeah, hopefully," Skywarp muttered, softly rubbing Laserbeak's head.

"Well done, should we head to the archives?" Hound asked the group.

"Yeah, it's probably the best thing to do," Onslaught agreed.

"Alright, then let's go," Jazz ordered. "We might be able to find something."

* * *

"What a waste of time," Jazz muttered sadly as he took a seat at one of the tables at the mall. It was fast approaching five and the archives yielded exactly nothing, which made Jazz want to strangle someone out of frustration. After all this time, he thought he might actually be able to find something at the library and that-

BONK!

"OW!" Jazz yelped as he rubbed his head and turned to see what was that.

"Sorry," Bumblebee chuckled, picking up a solid, metal ball from the ground with his hand. "Didn't catch it."

"Playing catch?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah," Bumblebee said, turning and throwing the ball over to Smokescreen, who catch it easily.

"Trying to relax?" Jazz asked, standing up and taking his place next to him.

"Of course. We've haven't really relax much since that party where Soundwave killed Shockwave," Smokescreen told him, tossing it to Bumblebee, who caught it this time. "You want to join in?"

"Nah. I think I'll just go to my room," Jazz said.

"Oh, come on," Bumblebee muttered, tossing it to Smokescreen, "you've been working too hard. Just relax and catch this ball."

"Ugh… fine. Toss it over here, Smoke," Jazz told him.

"Alright…," Smokescreen said, tossing it with a lot of quickly position himself where the ball was going to be and…

It disappeared with a blur.

"What the heck?" he asked looking around the area. "Where did the ball go?"

"Up here, morons!" a voice yelled, causing the three of them to look up at Skywarp on the second floor, tossing the ball up and catching it to himself with Laserbeak on the railing watching the two. "Laserbeak is a really good fetcher!" he bragged, giving his pet a look of admiration.

"Toss it back down here, you slagger!" Bumblebee yelled at the flyer. Skywarp tossed the ball up and down for a few moments before giving a nudge of his shoulders and tossing it high and past Bumblebee. The scout quickly ran backward to catch the ball and jumped, catching the ball, but not before landing on a table and flipping it over.

"Ha ha ha! Oh, that's hilarious," Skywarp laughed to himself.

"Yeah, I'm sorry 'Bee, but that was fragging funny," Smokescreen chuckled to himself. Jazz was chuckling two, the laughter from the other two infectious.

"Oh, I'm going to kill you, Skywarp!" Bumblebee shouted at him.

"Are we being literal or figurative?" Skywarp asked, not taking him seriously.

"Uh, I'll kill you literally once we're out of this place," Bumblebee shouted at him, putting the table in its original position and heading back to Jazz. "Now get out of here!"

"Huh, fine. I'll go bother someone else," Skywarp said, walking off with Laserbeak in tow.

"Ugh, why did he had to do that?" Bumblebee asked.

"Obviously, he's making himself feel better," Smokescreen chuckled, "as well as me."

"Oh, shut up," Bumblebee ordered, throwing the ball.

* * *

Hoist stayed silent as he followed Perceptor. It was nearing six, which meant that they would have to reconvene back at the lunchroom soon. Perceptor had broken away from everyone else and was heading off by himself somewhere. Hoist, still wondering if he was the mole or not, followed along, wondering if he was going to meet with the Mastermind of the whole thing. He followed him until he went to the dorm rooms and entered Shockwave's rom, which interested Hoist. ' _Why is he in there?_ " Hoist thought to himself before following and listening in to what was going on in there.

"Hey, are you here?" Perceptor asked quietly.

"Not physically, but yes," said a voice that sounded like it was coming from the intercom.

"Alright, what can you tell me about the mastermind?" Perceptor asked.

" _Huh? Who could Perceptor be talking too if it's not the mastermind. Could it be… that AI?_ "

"Hmm, now that wouldn't be quite fun, would it?" the AI taunted.

"Well done, what use is there for me coming here?" he asked it.

"Because I can give you advice, which is very important, considering your situation," he reminded him. "The next motive will be coming the day after tomorrow, so use your time with your allies wisely before they start becoming your enemies."

"The motive? Do you know what it is?" Perceptor asked it.

"Of course, but that would be spoiling too much. I got to have some fun, of course," the AI denied his information.

"You know, don't think this alliance isn't going to be as fruitful as I once hoped," Perceptor deadpanned.

"That's because this isn't an alliance. I don't need you and it would be much faster to get someone to kill you," he explained to Perceptor. "Now then, get out."

"Huh. Rude," Perceptor muttered, walking towards the entrance. Hoist quickly got away from the dorm quietly and headed down the steps, wondering what to do with this information.

* * *

Dinner came and everyone attended. The dinner was just idle talk among everyone as they discuss what to do tomorrow. They eventually agreed to do something as a group tomorrow to raise everyone's spirits, although exactly what was still unknown.

* * *

At ten, Ratchet shuffled along to his room, tired and ready for recharge. He walked across the mall's ground floor, on his way to the library. No one else was around and he was enjoying the silence for now. Most of the group had made their way to the rooms and were recharging right now. All that was elft for Ratchet to do today was to reach his room.

THUD!

Ratchet jumped as heard a sound and turned to see a overturn plant. Ratchet wondered what could possibly cause that. "Hello? Anyone there?" Ratchet asked. He waited to see if anybody would respond, but it was all quiet. Nothing made a noise. "Okay, maybe I'm paranoid. It's nothing. Plants knock themselves over any time and you're making vain excuses to yourself to keep yourself from going insane," Ratchet mumbled to himself. "I need to head to my room before someone decides to stick a knife in my back like Counterpunch."

Clack

"What the-" Ratchet said, looking around. "Okay, I know someone's here. Now show yourself!" Ratchet said, trying to be brave. Once again, no one answered his call. Quickly, faster than most people can detect, Ratchet ran out before anyone could catch him, not wanting to be attacked..

As he left, the sound of footsteps walked off to somewhere else in the mall.

 

 

 

 


	45. Chapter 4: Happy Days (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really needed to update, so here's part of the chapter. Enjoy.

**Day 13**

* _KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK*_

Hoist gave a groan as the sound of someone bashing on his door reached his ear. Someone apparently decided to annoy him today and he wasn't liking it as he saw that it was 4 in the morning. He got up and walked slowly to the door, wanting to see who decided to wake him up today. Once there, he opened it to see who was there, grumbling along the way: "Who's there."

"Someone who doesn't like being spied on," said the AI in a Monochrome robot. Hoist jumped back as the robot intruded in on him, stepping closer to him. "I was reviewing the footage and saw you spying in on mine and Perceptor's conversation. That wasn't very nice," he told him as he slammed his door shut. "Normally, I would probably just use your intercom, but I feel the need to tell you this as personally as I can and since my creator is sleeping soundly at the moment."

"Okay, so, did you decided to come threaten me? Why?" Hoist asked, backing up from the advancing AI.

"Well, threaten is such a mean word. I prefer to call it a warning," the robot told him calmly with a reassuring smile.

"I'm pretty sure that's still a threat," Hoist told him, hitting the wall where his room ended. The AI stopped just a little before him before speaking again.

"Well, that's a little mean. I just came to tell you that if you tell anyone else, even Perceptor about me, you might experience a long-overdue death," it pleasantly told him. "I swear, you Cybertronians live for so long, I'm pretty sure all of you have your deaths coming."

"So you are threatening me," Hoist asked again.

"Well, I guess you can put it that way," he said with a little shrug, "but it's best to listen to me. At the very least, relax for today before the motive comes tomorrow."

"Why should I?" Hoist asked him. "You could be plotting to kill me right now."

"Trust me, if I could kill you, you be on the ground dead already," the AI responded to his claim. "Now calm down for just a little bit and tell me why you were tailing Perceptor."

"Why… I was… you don't know?" Hoist asked him.

"No, I don't," the AI told him. "Believe it or not, my abilities are limited. Now explain to me why were you following Perceptor."

"Uh, well… I thought he was working with Monobear and was going to meet him," he told him. At that, the AI raised a eyebrow before giving a short laugh.

"Oh, that's hilarious. Work with Monobear? Who would work with him?" the AI asked him.

"The mole of course," Hoist answered. At that, the AI stopped laughing.

"Mole…?"

"Yes, the mole. You do realize that he inserted a mole in us… right?" he asked the AI. The thing looked at him strangely before replying:

"No. He's never mentioned that… or have a file on it," the AI said. "He must keep that away from me."

"Well, Perceptor is one of the suspects to being the mole," Hoist told him.

"And if he is… he could tell my master about me!" the AI suddenly realized, growing nervous.

"Well, you appear to be caught in a bind," Hoist realized. "If he is the mole, than your master will realize you're an AI, someone that I bet you don't want him to know," Hoist told the thing, causing him to grow worried.

"Slag… you!" the AI shouted. "Figure out whether he's a mole or not!"

"Well, maybe we can help each other," Hoist told him. "Nightbeat, Mirage, Smokescreen, and Ratchet are suspects for the mole. Chromedome as well, but he was, you know… executed for protecting Rewind. I don't think he was ever the mole."

"Yes, I… will do that," the AI said, heading out. "Thanks for the information. Let us find this mole!"

"Wait! That's it?" Hoist asked.

"Yes, that's it," the AI said, opening the door. "Enjoy your slumber."

*SLAM*

Hoist stared at the door where the AI was, confused by the sudden turn of events, but happy about it nonetheless. He laid back down on the recharge slab, ready for sleep.

* * *

At 7:15, everybody had woken up to meet in the lunchroom to discuss what to do today. "Well, it's only a matter of time before Monobear unveils his next motive, so we should probably do some more investigating while it's safe," Jazz immediately offered.

"Jazz, remember what me and Smokescreen said?" Bumblebee reminded him.

"Oh... yeah," Jazz mumbled.

"And what are you three planning?" Ratchet asked them, looking on edge.

"Uh, well… are you alright, Ratchet? I haven't seen you this on edge in a while," Jazz asked, looking at the paranoid medic.

"It's nothing. Just… something weird last night. Nothing to worry you all about," Ratchet explained before going on the offensive. "Now, quit dodging the question and tell me: what are you planning today?"

"Uh, well, it has come to my attention that morale around here is nearing to an all-time low, so I was thinking of an all-day group activity," he recommended to them.

"An… all-day group activity?" Bludgeon asked, confused.

"Yeah, you know. I figure we just all hang out at the mall together and socialize. Just hang out and relax. Primus knows we need it," he specified.

"I don't socialize," Bludgeon scoffed, turning away.

"Well, I see nothing wrong with it," Onslaught agreed with Jazz. "To be honest, hanging around and accomplishing nothing is doing something unwell to my psyche, as well as my men."

"Yeah, I'm fine with it," Swindle agreed.

"Could be worst," Blast Off assented.

"Huh, I think me and Rewind really need that," Hound agreed, nudging Rewind.

"Whatever," Dead End muttered, reading.

"That's his way of saying 'SLAG YEAH!'" Wildrider told them before adding, "Not kidding."

"Not worrying about finding clues does sound… moderately enjoyable," Scavenger agreed along with a bob of approval from Mixmaster.

"Well, as long as I can bring drinks, that's fine with me," Blurr agreed.

"Works for me," Perceptor agreed.

"Fine," Hoist said.

"I think Bludgeon is in the minority," Nautilator remarked, causing the metallikato expert to glare at him. "Hey, it's the truth! Don't hurt me!"

"Uh…," Skywarp murmured, "I guess me and Laserbeak would be okay with it."

"I'm fine with it... I think," Beachcomber replied nervously.

"I could use a day to relax," Knock Out agreed. "Maybe I can actually properly buff myself this time."

"I could spend the day doing worst," Nightbeat agreed.

"I guess of day of fun would be a nice change of pace," Mirage replied, "although I doubt our ideas of fun coincides."

"I sure it'll be fine, Mirage," Drift replied happily.

"Humph," he scoffed.

"Well, I guess we'll all be able to watch each other," Ratchet said, thinking it through.

"So, this is fine with everyone?" Jazz asked them.

"Majority rules," Smokescreen judged. "Let's all head to the mall."

* * *

"Alright, so we're here. Now what?" Bludgeon said with disdain as they gather at the tables.

"Well, I guess I'll leave that to Smoke and Bee," he told them, leaving them to explain.

"Uh, right…," Smokescreen mumbled. "Look, we got a few things planed throughout the day that involves everyone, but for now, just stay in here until we get these things settle, alright?"

"So… you have nothing," Bludgeon muttered, glaring at them.

"Hey, Commander Killjoy, do be quiet," Smokescreen told the warrior. "I won't let your inability to have fun ruin it for everyone else."

"He is not Commander Killjoy!" Wildrider shouted, putting an arm around Dead End's shoulders. "Here's the actual Commander Killjoy!"

"Fun is dead," Dead End blankly announced, pushing Wildrider away, "now be quiet."

"You two are weird," Bumblebee murmured before speaking. "We do have something planned. It just requires some set-up, okay?" he asked them.

Everyone gave various answers of 'yes,' 'okay,' and 'whatever.'

"Alright, great. Just give me and Smokescreen a couple of hours, alright?" he told them, before him and Smokescreen set off to one of the stores.

"Well, couple of hours to kill. What do you guys want to do?" Blurr asked them.

"Read," Dead End answered immediately, breaking off from the group and heading up the stairs.

"What an extrovert," Skywarp snarked.

"Where the frag did you learn that word?" Swindle asked.

"I read," Skywarp said, lightly rubbing Laserbeak.

"What? Comic books?" Mirage scoffed.

"Uh, yeah, what else?" he bluntly told them before silently muttering to himself. "What an asspull in the last one. Attention Deflectors? Seriously?"

"Anyway," Jazz interrupted, "try to stay in the mall. I don't want anyone wondering off by themselves."

"Right, do you want anyone to watch the entrance?" Ratchet asked.

"There's ten of them, not including the ones to the maintenance hall and the groundbridge. It's far too many for one person to watch," Jazz told them.

"Well… I think I can help with that, actually," Hoist told him.

"You can?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah. I saw some wireless cameras at an electronic shop. Sync them with a computer of some sort and you're good to go," Hoist told him.

"I believe there are computers there as well that we can use," Mirage mentioned.

"Could you do that for me?" Jazz asked them.

"Eh, I guess. Shouldn't take more than 10, 15 minutes," Mirage estimated.

"That's pretty accurate," Hoist agreed.

"Right, get started on that," Jazz told them and the two both gave a nod before leaving to start on it.

"Right… now what?" Knock Out asked uninterested.

"Well, I guess we just hang around the place," Blurr said.

"Right, let's try and relax a little bit," Nautilator said. "Today's is not a day to be scare of everyone."

"Huh, you are willing to let your guard down?" Bludgeon asked him. "How foolish."

"Hey, we're all watching each other here! I don't see anything wrong with relaxing a bit," Nautilator rebuked. "Besides, there's no motive. Why would anybody try to murder with no motive?"

"Which makes it the perfect time to strike. No one would expect it," he argued.

"Hey, calm down!" Jazz told them. "Everybody is sticking together here and we're not here to fight. Just try to relax, Bludgeon."

"Humph, find me after you get the cameras working. I will be on watch there," Bludgeon told him.

"Not even going to try to have fun, are you," Drift murmured.

"I'll just watch and make sure everyone stays alive," Bludgeon told them. "I doubt much of you have the patience for surveillance."

"Someone is being a bit arrogant," Skywarp muttered.

"You least of all," Bludgeon talked down to him.

"Well, if you want to do that, then I don't see anything wrong with that, although you should have a partner to watch over you as well," Jazz told him.

"I guess I can do that," Ratchet volunteered.

"Alright, I guess that's good," Jazz consented. "So, you two stick with me while the rest do whatever you want," he ordered everybody.

* * *

"Alright, Computer is ready for the cameras to sync to it," Mirage told Hoist as he pay attention to the holographic screen in front of him. "Do it whenever you're ready."

"You got it," Hoist said, hitting a button on the orb-like camera. A second letter, Mirage gave a thumbs-up.

"It works. Let's sync the others to the computer," he told him.

"Understood," Hoist replied, setting up another camera. The process continued on until they had prepared 16 cameras."Okay, that should be enough; 10 for each entrance into the mall and five for the maintenance halls."

"Good job," Mirage praised as he came over. "Now we have to see these ups, right?"

"Yes… we do…," Hoist muttered, thinking things over.

"Hey, are you okay?" Mirage asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he answered.

"You sure, you look like you're concentrating on something really important," Mirage asked him.

"Some… odd things have been happening," Hoist told him.

"Really? Well, can you tell me about it?" Mirage asked him sympathetic.

"Uh, well…," Hoist muttered, thinking it through. Mirage was becoming a close ally, but he was still a suspect for the mole and he couldn't risk that just yet. "Not yet. I have to be certain of something first."

"Oh, well, alright. If you say so," the aristocrat agreed, grabbing a bundle of cameras. "Shall we put these cameras up?"

"Yeah, sure," Hoist agreed, grabbing the rest. "Let's go put these up."

* * *

"The bar?" Ratchet asked as him and Bludgeon took a seat at a table.

"Yeah, I figured it's a place not many people will disturb you," Jazz mentioned as he left for the exit. "I'll go to where Hoist and Mirage are and bring the computer when they're done," he mentioned as he departed.

"I want this day to be finished," Bludgeon growled out as he leaned back in his seat. "This is going to be a day of uselessness."

"Well, normally I would agree, but considering the rising tensions, I think it would be a good idea for them to relax for a little bit," Ratchet argued, propping his head with a hand. "This game we're in relies on trusting each other and being as paranoid as Red Alert won't help the group."

"But it will help the individual," Bludgeon countered, glaring at the waiter coming to meet him. "Not a step closer, servant of Monobear." The waiter stopped and backed away from the table back to the bar in a sprint.

"Well, I doubt anyone will try to kill you," Ratchet remarked, glancing at the cowering waiter.

"Directly, yes, but deceit is the law of the land here. Who's to say that the next cube of energon I drink, I don't convulse to the floor, dead?" he questioned the medic. "Shockwave is a formidable opponent, but he fell because to exactly that, trusting the wrong one."

"Uh, well, it's like I said, it's all about trust. It's pretty hard to trust anyone completely here," Ratchet murmured, looking around.

"Yes… have you noticed anything odd recently?" Bludgeon asked him.

"Well, kind of, although I think my mind was playing tricks on me," he murmured.

"Hmm?"

"Well… last night, I was walking around the mall after the Monobear announcement, I heard noises. Sounded like someone was sneaking around, but I didn't see them. They were probably hiding around, trying to sneak past me," Ratchet explained.

"So… somebody is already planning a murder? And without a motive? Interesting…," Bludgeon murmured.

"It could've just been my mind-"

"No, it has to be someone planning a murder. There is little doubt behind it," Bludgeon pushed the idea. "In this place, it's the only answer."

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. You're suspecting somebody of murder already," Ratchet talked down too.

"Three have already happened. I'm just being smart," Bludgeon told him.

"The only one that I would even qualify as a murder was Soundwave killing Shockwave. Brawl killed by accident and Chromedome killed to protect Rewind. We're not a bunch of murderers, we're survivors."

"And how far will a survivor go to live?" Bludgeon asked him. "The will to survive is a great one. The stress of the situation could make anyone do anything."

"I'm not denying that fact, but to think that these are murders are false, despite what the bear says. We're just trying to survive a situation that he put us in," Ratchet explained himself. "It's a shame that they killed someone, but I can't blame them for it."

"Hmm, I guess your justification makes sense, but they all made the situation worse," Bludgeon told him. "There deaths forced the sneaky one to make everyone have a day to rest and lick their wounds."

"Well, that's true," Ratchet murmured as Jazz came in with a device. "Alright guys, Hoist and Mirage worked their magic and the cameras are set up. Here you go," he said, laying the device down in-between the two of them and turned it off, letting 16 holographic screens show up.

"Wow, this is advance stuff," Ratchet murmured, looking at the screens.

"Yeah, apparently, these cameras and computer are a step ahead of ours," Jazz told them, gazing down at the two of them. "So, you two are good here?"

"We should be find, Jazz," Ratchet answered with a assenting nod from Bludgeon.

"Right, I'll leave you two alone then" Jazz said, heading out. "Try to stay interested!" As he left, the two looked at the screens.

"We really made a couple of leaps in technology here, did we?" Ratchet asked.

"It would appear so," Bludgeon agreed. "Makes me wonder exactly what we did here… the good and the bad."

"Yes… the good and the bad," Ratchet murmured.

* * *

"Oil balls are so gooooood," Scavenger mumbled as he popped one in his mouth and chomped on it loudly. He was at one of the tables at the bottom floor with Mixmaster, Beachcomber, and the remaining Combaticons.

"That junk food will rust your dentas out," Mixmaster exasperated, holding his head.

"They're so good, though," Scavenger countered, dropping another one in his mouth. "You should try one."

"Um… no," Mixmaster bluntly answered.

"They are pretty good, though," Beachcomber told him, downing some oil balls of his own.

"Sooooooo gooooood," Scavenger repeated.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Swindle murmured. "You don't have to say it like you're performing auto-erotic fragging."

"Swindle, do you have some… _videos_ that you're keeping from me?" Onslaught asked his weapons expert.

"Uh, no…," Swindle murmured.

"Swindle, you remember the first trial?" Blast Off asked him. "Rewind mentioned getting snuff films from you."

"Heh heh heh, he did? I can't hardly remember," Swindle chuckled nervously, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yes, he di- YUCK!" Blast Off yelled as oil got splattered on chest from Scavenger's mouth full of oil balls. "Why you filthy vagabond."

"Mup smmry," Scavenger… apologized?

"Not accepted," Blast Off scowled at the oil ball eater.

"Mup Smmry!" he repeated.

"Uh, Blast Off, please calm down. Scrapper would have my head if you do that," Mixmaster tried to soothe him.

"Oh, trust me, I'm calm," Blast Off said in a decidingly not calm voice.

"Yeah, sure. Most definitely," Swindle sardonically replied.

"Blast Off, now is not the time for conflict," Onslaught recommended to him, tensing up.

"Yeah, seriously dude. Just calm down," Beachcomber agreed, trying to mediate between everyone.

"I'm fine," Blast Off said, standing up. "Please excuse me while I go find something to clean myself with," he excused, walking away from the table with trembling shoulders of barely contained rage.

"Wow. Way to go, you slob," Swindle insulted Scavenger.

"I'm sorry!" he replied, having finally swallowed the oil balls. "They are so addicting."

"Wow, you're stupid," Swindle continued to insult.

"Uh-huh, now, Swindle," Onslaught said, staring him down again, "these… videos that you've been keeping from me."

"Oh scrap."

* * *

"Uh, what are you doing?" Rewind asked Hound as he was drawing on a sketchpad in the art store.

"I'm working on a drawing," he told Rewind. "How about you?"

"Just recording, you know," Rewind said, rubbing his hands nervously. "Do it 24/7. Never stop, even when I sleep."

"Do you ever delete any of it?" Hound asked, looking up at him.

"No… I don't," Rewind told him. "Everything I've seen since I was created I've got stored up here."

"That… kind of crazy," Hound muttered, going back to the drawing.

"Yeah, maybe a little bit.… How about you?" Rewind asked. "You came here as the Ultimate Preservationist. What's it like?"

"It's kind of tiresome," Hound told Rewind. "Seeing Cybertron get reduced to a dead planet… really got to me."

"Yeah… it got everybody," the archivist agreed.

"When we got to Earth and I saw all the nature of it, I knew… I had to protect that,"" the green 'Bot said, switching to some color pens. "Since I've always been a protector of people, I figured as might as well protect nature as well."

"That's very altruistic of you," Rewind said, giving a soft smile.

"Yeah, well, it can't be helped," Hound said, "and if anybody wants to harm it, they'll have to go through me."

"Huh, I wouldn't want to mess with you. You're pretty tough," Rewind chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm pretty capable," he muttered, stopping his drawing. "Tell me, does this look good?" Hound asked, showing off the yellow-stem flower with aqua and azure he draw before. This one was a bit sloppier looking than the last one, but still looked acceptable.

"That's very pretty," he told him

"Is it?" Hound asked, turning it back towards himself. "I still need more practice with it."

"Maybe, but it's still nice," Rewind told him." You should do some more."

"Yeah, I could do that," Hound agreed. "Any recommendations?"

"Uh, well," Rewind mumble before whispering, "Chromedome."

"Huh? Oh, well," Hound stuttered before replying, "I could try that, but it's probably best to wait until I get better so it will be really good."

"Ah, well, that would be good," Rewind agreed, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Thanks."

"It's no problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit Notes: I also made a ton of edits to previous chapters (mostly the trials), adding more dialogue, editing grammar mistakes, rehauling the last part of the second trial, and adding cross swords between other people beside the main detective.


	46. Chapter 4: Happy Days (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry this is taking so long, but collage is fricking hard. Also, sorry for the cliffhanger.

"Alright, so what do you want to do?" Mirage asked Hoist as they walked down the 3rd floor of the mall.

"Well… I'm not sure. I don't really like doing anything else except repairing things," Hoist said off-handily. "I'm kind of boring like that."

"Are you sure? You don't do anything besides repairing?" the aristocrat asked, surprised. "You don't gamble, you don't drink, you don't read, you don't do _anything_?" Mirage asked him.

"Uh… correct."

"…Wow, and I thought the rumors I heard about being boring were an exaggeration," Mirage muttered in disbelief, looking around the area. Almost immediately, he saw Blast Off emerging from the cleaning store, cleaning himself. "Hey, Blast Off!" The shuttle turned to look at him before walking over to him.

"What do you want, Mirage? And what exactly are you doing with such a banal commoner," he asked him.

"I was wondering if you can help me find a hobby for Hoist, and I have my reasons for hanging out with him," Mirage told him.

"Is it because you envy his repair-skills?" Blast Off asked catching Mirage off-guard. "You'd always hated it whenever someone can beat you at something you're good at and would always work with them until you can defeat them and then make sure they can't beat you again."

"Hey, that's not it," Mirage muttered, glaring at his fellow ex-senator. "While he does make me better at repairing, I do want a friend."

"Huh, you said that before," Blast Off murmured before looking over Hoist. "Look, one time, this mech was good at porting, you ever (What are you doing?) heard of it?" Hoist shook his head no. "Doesn't matter, it's completely worthless to someone as lowly as you. Anyway, he took some training (Seriously, stop!) from the mech. After he was better than him, he played a match with him that ended with Mirage completely obliterating him. Once he won, he (Stop!) arranged for an accident to him that left him with completely destroyed hands that left him unable to ever be good at porting again," Blast Off finished, rubbing his nails. Mirage was incensed, looking as if he wanted to rip Blast Off apart.

"Where did you learn about that?" he asked him he an evil tone.

"I had your secret. It was quite fun looking through the archive and getting the full story behind that. You did a pretty good job covering it up," Blast Off complemented him, turning over to Hoist. "Now tell me, do you think that Mirage is still here to make friends?"

Hoist remained quiet, looking between the two in confusion. "I'm… not sure."

"Hey, listen to me," Mirage said, gaining his attention. "I've done some… questionable things in my life, but I assure you, I'm being honest here. Don't let my past actions from several million years ago affect your opinion of me now. I've changed," Mirage said in a desperate tone. Hoist was unsure if it was because he didn't want to lose a friend or if it was because he still wanted to take advantage of him.

"I… think I need to think about this new information," Hoist said, walking away from the two in a haste. As he left, Mirage turned around to the shuttle and glared daggers at him.

"What was that for?!" he growled at him, getting ready to beat him senseless.

"Why are you hanging around with him? I can't think of any reason besides that," Blast Off told him, looking down on him. "I remember when you sneered at the thought of even seeing one."

"Well then, what happen to me? Could it be that I considered my previous thoughts of those below me to be wrong and I change my fragging worldview because of that?!" Mirage ranted at Blast Off.

"Humph. So you say," Blast Off muttered, looking away and glancing down below. "Maybe I'm just a bit hung up on the past."

"Or maybe you just like screwing with other people," Mirage accused.

"Well, look at it this way," Blast Off said, "if Hoist does continued to want to be your friend, then you can at least trust him."

"Huh?" Mirage asked.

"I just aired a dirty secret of yours that you didn't want anybody to know," Blast Off reminded him. "If he comes back after hearing that, then he has no problems with you and I'm sure he can still be you friend."

"That doesn't mean you have to jeopardize it!" he yelled at Blast Off.

"Maybe, but I've already done it so there's no use complaining about it," Blast Off shrugged him off, walking away. Mirage glared at his fellow aristocrat with a look that could kill before heading off by himself.

* * *

"Alright, how are you two doing?" Jazz asked Smokescreen and Bumblebee in the general store.

"Well, how to put it…?" Bumblebee muttered.

"We don't have a fraggin' clue what to do," Smokescreen told him.

"…What?" Jazz asked in disbelief. "But you said you had something planned!"

"We did?" Smokescreen asked in a mocking tone. At that point, Jazz realized that they were _tricking_ him.

"You motherboarders," Jazz grumbled, glaring at the two of them. "Why did you play me?"

"Look, the main reason we did this was so _you_ could calm down," Bumblebee told him. "Seriously, yesterday was fine, but you still have a bit of a stick up you aft that we would like to take out and beat you over the head with."

"You have been so invested in trying to figure out the background behind the school that you're forgetting how to relax and have some fun, as well as painting a large target on your back," Smokescreen chimed in. Jazz glanced between the two of them before taking a seat in a nearby chair, looking very tire.

"A fifth of us are dead," he began, causing the other two to flinch at that. "Do you know how I have to explain to Optimus that I failed to prevent their deaths? That I could only watched helplessly as people are systemically murdered and executed? I'm the highest ranking one here which means that it's my fault that they died. You'll probably try to convince me that it isn't, but it's how I feel. It's taking a strain on me and several of the others here. You guys too, although you're better at hiding it. The worst part? More is going to happen and there's nothing we can do about it." He went quiet as he finished his melancholic monologue. Bumblebee and Smokescreen glanced at each other awkwardly as he was done talking.

"Uh, hey. You can't say that for sure," Bumblebee tried to comfort the morose spy. "Look, I know that it's hard to keep everybody from killing each other, but if we keep trying I'm sure no more will die! We just have to be… stricter when the next motive comes," Bumblebee said.

"What do you mean be that?" Jazz asked, turning to him.

"I think he's recommending that we limit people's movements," Smokescreen said, causing Jazz to raise an eyebrow at that. "I mean, the past three motives, we've let people have full reign around the available area. What if we limits people's movements as a whole?"

"That's… oppressive, but it might work. It would certainly lessens the amount of chances a killer could have," Jazz muttered, thinking it through.

"I don't want to do it, but if it keeps us alive until Optimus rescues us, then we'll do it for everyone's safety," Bumblebee said, sounding a bit sad.

"You seriously still think Optimus's is going to rescue you?!" Monobear asked as he came out of nowhere.

"AH! What the frag?! We're having a personal moment here!" Jazz shouted at the bear.

"You really have some bad timing," Smokescreen glowered at the monochromatic bear.

"Well, I only do so when people say stupid things, such as this walking yielding signal saying that Optimus will still rescue him. To you, dear yellow light, I must declare that _you are wrong_!" Monobear shouted at Bumblebee, who looked incensed.

"I know he's a bit slow at reaching us, but I know that if we can just hold out, he'll bust us out," Bumblebee shouted at the bear with a clenched fist. Monobear continued to smile with half his teeth has he started mockingly singing off-key.

" _You are wroooooong_

_Optimus is uselessssss._

_Just give upppppppppp_

_Because he will never help youuuuuu!"_

"Will you shut up?" Bumblebee yelled at the annoyance. "You have no proof that he won't."

"Uh, actually I do, but you see, that would be a spoiler and I know from reading on the extranet that people don't like spoilers, so HAH!" Monobear smugly told the scout.

"Proof? What the fragging proof do you have?" Bumblebee asked him.

"I left hints all around the fragging place! Figure it out so that everyone else watching can mock you for not knowing the truth," he told him even more smugly.

"'Everyone else watching?' Who the frag is that?" Bumblebee asked him.

"Fourth wall. Look it up," the bear bluntly told him.

"That's not an answer!" he shouted at him. "Now quit lying. Optimus will get us out."

"Ah, so optimistic. So _stupid_ ," Monobear continued his onslaught of mocking.

"Oh, when I find out who you are, I'm so kicking your aft when we find you," Bumblebee told him with an intense glare.

"Hey, 'Bee, calm down," Jazz said, getting in-between the two of them. "He wants you to get mad so you can mess up."

"And you! I would think you would do my job for me and explain why Optimus Prime and the Autobots saving him is such a minute possibility," Monobear chastised the spy.

"Huh? What's he talking about," Smokescreen asked, suspicious of the implications.

"I'm talking about his video, of course! You remember the first incentive, riiiiiiight?" he asked them.

"Of course we do, but what does that have to do with anything?" Bumblebee asked the bear.

"Oh, Jazz, could you explain to him what was on your video?" Monobear asked him sweetly.

"Huh, but, that isn't necessary," Jazz tried to get out of it.

"What's on the video that doesn't make you want to tell us?" Smokescreen asked him.

"Uh, it's just that, uh, it's nothing," Jazz tried to get out of it.

"Hey, you're clearly acting suspicious!" Bumblebee accused him, turning to glare at him.

"Look, i-i-it's nothing," Jazz told them, trying to dig himself out of the topic at hand.

"Okay, fine, then I'll tell them," the bear said before announcing, against Jazz complaints, "It was footage of Autobot Headquarters in ruins!"

"What!?" Bumblebee asked in shock.

"Are you serious?" Smokescreen wondered.

"Yep! Upupupupupup. Doesn't that just feel terrible!" he asked.

"No. That footage… it has to be a lie!" Jazz tried to comfort the other two. "I know what I saw on the footage, but it has to be a lie. No way could it be wrecked like that."

"My, someone's in denial," Monobear muttered from the side.

"No, I'm not!" Jazz shouted down at him.

"But, weren't Soundwave final words that _all_ of the footage was true?" Smokescreen remembered. "Isn't that the main reason why we think something's wrong outside and on Earth?"

"Yeah, but… it's a lie!" Jazz continued to deny. "Just wait, we'll get out of here, and I'll head on up to HQ to tell him all the people we lost because one sick slagger wanted to play a game! You know why? Because you never tell the truth!"

"You're still assuming that there's a chance more than one person will get out? Ha! That's hilarious," Monobear mocked, before walking off. "I'll let you two handle this moron," he said as he went out the store.

"Huh, he actually walked out," Smokescreen noted.

"Jazz, why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" Bumblebee ignored Smokescreen's remarked and continued getting information from Jazz.

"Look, Soundwave has to be lying in some way, alright," Jazz comforted him, although it sounded more like he was comforting himself

"But, he was about to die! Why would he lie as he was being executed?" Bumblebee badgered him.

"I… don't know," Jazz confessed. "Maybe… Monobear tricked him into thinking the footage was all real?" he tried to argue.

"Jazz, do you really think that someone as good as Soundwave would mistake a fake video for a real one?" Smokescreen asked, giving him a cold look.

"I-I… something has to be tampered with!" Jazz kept arguing.

"Hey, calm down! Autobot HQ has been trashed before. What makes this one any different?" Bumblebee asked him.

"Because… because…," Jazz left off.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" Smokescreen pointed out. "There was something amongst the ruins, wasn't there?"

"…Yeah," Jazz answered.

"Well then, what was it?" he asked.

"…"

"Jazz?"

"…"

"Are you, okay?" Bumblebee asked him.

"…I'll explain later… at lunch… to everyone," Jazz blankly said, heading out of the room. The two glanced at each other as he left.

"What was in that video that's got him silent?" Smokescreen asked.

"Something terrible," Bumblebee muttered. "Jeez, we were supposes to make Jazz relax today and now he's even worse than before."

"Yeah… I I'm feeling unsure as well," Smokescreen muttered. "That video of his… must be something truly terrifying."

* * *

Dead End glared at the obnoxious distraction across from him over his datapad. Skywarp was talking to Laserbeak in a loud voice as he told him about the adventure of some 'ninja academy,' which made him want to head to the nearest wall and bash his head in. In the background noise, he could hear Wildrider doing something, but that was a far lesser annoyance compared to Skywarp's continued nasally voice talking to the shrill beeping of Laserbeak.

"Can't you read quietly?" Dead End asked him softly as he glared at him. Skywarp either ignore him or didn't hear him as he continued to read to Laserbeak without pause. Dead End gritted his denta together in annoyance and asked again in a slightly louder tone. "Will you please read _quietly_?" This got an answer as Skywarp continued to read while sending Dead End a rather rude gesture with his finger. Dead End scowled at the obscene gestured and grabbed one of his other datapad on poetry and tossed it.

"Ow!" Skywarp shouted, rubbing his head and glaring at him.

"Will you be quiet?" Dead End requested, glaring at him.

"Ugh, fine," Skywarp agreed and began muttering very lowly to Laserbeak, which was much more tolerable than before. Dead End gave a satisfy grunt and went back to relaxing in his chair as he continued to read his datapad peace.

* * *

At twelve came around, Jazz told everyone come to the bar for lunch today. Everyone arrived and took a seat at some tables. Ratchet and Bludgeon stayed where they were with Drift and Nautilator taking a seat next to the one on their side. The Combaticons took a seat with the Constructicons and Beachcomber, with Onslaught continually pressing Swindle about the snuff films and Blast Off admonishing Beachcomber and Scavenger for being 'disgusting vermin' with Mixmaster watching everyone in amusement. Smokescreen and Bumblebee took a seat with Blurr, Nightbeat, and Mirage joining them, the latter having been shoo off by Hoist, who was taking a seat with Perceptor, Knock Out, Rewind and Hound. Wildrider and Dead End took a seat together, the latter ignoring the other's inane babbling. Skywarp took a seat by himself, with Laserbeak relaxing on the back of an empty seat and Jazz sticking by himself, mumbling softly.

Near the end of the meeting, Jazz gat up and announced loudly: "May I have you attention?" Everyone went quiet at that, turning over to look at him. Jazz suddenly felt nervous at the grim news he had to deliver, but he had too.

"What do you want?" Skywarp asked, glancing over to Laserbeak with suspicion.

"I have some information to tell you," Jazz muttered nervously.

"Is it about that video?" Bumblebee asked, leaning in with anticipation.

"Yes, it is," Jazz admitted.

"Video? You mean the first incentive Monobear gave us?" Ratchet asked him.

"Yeah…," Jazz muttered.

"Well then, what is it that makes it such an important matter?" Dead End asked with suspicion.

"Monobear mentioned that it showed the Autobot based in ruins," Smokescreen mentioned.

"What?!" Ratchet asked, standing up at that. "How come you didn't tell us about that?" With that, there was generally mumbling of agreement.

"Well, I think it's best to show you it myself," Jazz told them. "I know we were supposed to stay at the mall all day, but I need to head to the A/V room to show it."

"Hmm, hey? The Autobot HQ is trashed. That's it right?" Blurr asked, nervously.

"I wished that was it, but there was something else among the rubble…," Jazz left off. Everybody glanced at each other before paying their full attention to him.

"What?" Mirage was the first to speak up.

"Like I said, I'll have to show you," he told them.

"Is it really that bad?" Nautilator asked.

"You'll see," Jazz muttered. "When I first saw it, I thought it couldn't be true, but… Soundwave's words have been getting to me and what happen in the last trial showed that I need to be more truthful about the secrets I'm hiding, so I think I need to show you it."

"Well then, let's go," Ratchet said, standing up. "I'm interested in what you have to show."

"You won't like it… no one will."

* * *

Jazz put his disc in the main screen and it came on, showing off a scene between him and Optimus Prime at Autobot HQ. "Here we have Jazz, hanging out with his leader, Optimus Prime. They're kind of best buds," Monobear voiced narrated the scene in front of them. Then, just like the other disc, the static came in and they were shown the Autobots HQ in shambles, walls decayed and crumbling down and the ceiling caving in. There, trapped under the rubble… "Oh my, what happen here? Who could've done such a thing? If Jazz wants to find out, he knows what he has to do." Jazz paused it and enlarged it to the rubble. There, they could see a figure who looks to have his legs crushed, half of his head missing, and his arms sliced off and discarded to the side. His chest cavity was cut wide open, exposing the insides of the corpse. Despite all that, they could still tell who it extremely familiar figure was and it shocked everyone. 

There laid Optimus Prime, dead.


	47. Chapter 4: Colors

A great silence fell upon the room as they realized what was showing up in the image. The iconic leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime… dead? Everyone looked shocked by it, even Wildrider looked genuinely surprised and saddened by the news. They digested it slowly, staying in silence until someone spoke up.

"What the _fuck_?" Blurr finally spoke up, saying what was on everyone's mind. "That's… that's bullshit!"

"Soundwave said they were real…." Beachcomber murmured blankly, looking away from the image on the screen.

"Fuck Soundwave!" Blurr rejected, making Laserbeak flinch and glare at him. "No way could that've possibly happened! It doesn't matter how long we've been knocked out, that doesn't happen! Optimus doesn't just die and we know nothing about."

"But if that is true… what about everyone else?" Skywarp muttered, thinking it through. "Starscream and Thundercracker might be in trouble. Everyone we care about might be in trouble!"

"Is there any full-proof way we can confirm this?" Perceptor asked, his voice a bit shaky.

"If Soundwave was still alive, he could've explain this to us, but he's dead," Blast Off murmured.

"Laserbeak could possibly know," Nightbeat said, glancing at the pet on Skywarp's shoulders.

*Beeps* the pet answered.

"Uh, I think it said that it might be able too if it could reconnect to Soundwave's memory databanks, but we don't have a body for it," Skywarp murmured nervously.

"And each body disappears after we're done with it," Dead End told them. "He probably has them stored somewhere else in the school and will transport them to the basement after this game is over."

"Well then, that's a dead end, no pun intended," Hound said.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Scavenger asked, distraught over the image.

"I don't think so," Jazz replied. "All we have is Soundwave's word that they are true."

"Is that enough?" Onslaught asked. "Those sure didn't look fake."

"…Could I have a look at it?" Rewind asked.

"Huh?" Jazz asked.

"I do a lot of filming as you now. I might be able to see if it's real or not," Rewind told him.

"Well, why didn't you mention that earlier?!" Blurr questioned him, agitated.

"Hey, I didn't say I can do it. I only said I could," Rewind told him.

"Well, I guess I might be able to help too," Swindle mentioned, rubbing his head. "I often deal with products like this. I could be able to see if it's legit or not."

"Hmm… very well," Jazz agreed. "It would help us to figure out if it's real or not to make our next plan."

"Our next plan?" Bludgeon asked, intrigued.

"Yes. If Optimus is… unavailable to help, we have no choice but to find our own way out of here," he told them. "We can't wait around and do nothing when we don't know anything about what's going on outside and Optimus… taken care of."

"So… we have no choice but to bust out way out, don't we," Nautilator asked, afraid. "No one is going to save us."

"It would appear that way," Mirage agreed.

"Ugh… Could this get any worse?" Hound asked them.

"I could do it if you want?!" Monobear shouted, appearing out of nowhere.

"Shit!" Hound yelled, glaring at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah. What the frag?" Skywarp asked him.

"Hound wanted to know if it could be worse and I said I could," Monobear told them.

"How?" Perceptor asked.

"Simple, I could give you your next incentive!" the Monobear told them.

"What? But we haven't had enough time to relax, dude?" Beachcomber said, agitated.

"Well, considering the way this day is going, I figure I might as well go ahead and do it," Monobear told them with a shrug.

"Is that it? Just because it's thematically pleasing to you?" Dead End asked him, annoyed.

"Hey. My game. My rules. You get no say in it," Monobear reminded him. "And since you're all here, let's get it going!"

"Great, so what is it?" Smokescreen asked annoyed.

"It's very simple. Kill someone and I'll... fulfill a wish!" Monobear announced to them.

"A… wish?" Drift asked, confused.

"Yep. Ask for anything and I'll fulfill it (barring teensy-weeny things such as necromancy)!"

"We could ask for anything and it would be fulfill?" Onslaught asked.

"Yes, barring a few things, as I said," Monobear told him.

"Hey, why are you asking him to specify?" Blurr asked, suspicious.

"No reason," the tactician said, brushing him off.

"Hmph, whatever. What I want is impossible to fulfill anyway," the racer said, looking away. "This is a useless motive to me."

"Nobody has a desire that's worth killing everybody else for, right?" Beachcomber asked the room. "We've already gone through so much. There's no need for another killing!"

"He's right," Perceptor told the room. "Another killing is unnecessary. It would just cause more unwanted harm."

"Would you quit talking like that?" Dead End asked them.

"Huh?"

"I mean, do you think no one will be willing to murder someone for their deepest desire?" Dead End asked him. "If so, you are dumber than you appear."

"Hey, don't say that!" Bumblebee yelled at him. "We've gone through enough already. There's no need for anymore killings."

"Humph, how pathetic," Dead End murmured before turning to the bear. "How long is this incentive in played?"

"Oh, 72 hours," the bear told him.

"Well, dear killer, there's your deadline. Three days before your wish can never come true," the poet told the room

"Seriously, stop!" Rewind told him. "We don't need your insanity affecting everyone."

"Insanity?" Dead End queried, leaning down to stare him in his optics. "Rewind, you _widower_ ," he emphasized, causing him to flinch, "I thought that you of all people would realize that I am _very sane_. Certainly saner than everyone else here. So please, do the right thing and look after yourself," he told him, rising back up, leaving Rewind shaking. "Chromedome died trying to help someone. You should learn from-"

Crack!

Dead End didn't finished that sentence as Hound marched up and sucker-punched him, sending him down to the floor. "Would you shut up, you bastard?!" Hound threaten the downed poet before heading to Rewind and holding on to him. "Hey, calm down, Rewind," he tried to soothe the archivist. Dead End got up into a sitting position and glared at them.

"Tch, I wonder how long until you two are at each other's throat," he muttered to himself as he got back on his legs. "Are we done here?" he asked Monobear.

"Yes, of course Dead End," Monobear told him before adding something else. "May I say that I admire your work and your attitude? Such despair! It's so beautiful."

"My works are for the sane," Dead End told him. "Makes me wonder why you would have any interest in them."

"Oh, buuuuuuurn." Wildrider chuckled, looking happier, which caused Monobear to look frustrated before walking out.

"Humph, I should've guessed. Meeting you heroes is always a drag," Monobear murmured as he went off.

"Huh, such a pathetic being wielding so much power over us," Dead End muttered. "It's quite disappointing."

"Well, we got an incentive, right?" Bumblebee told everyone. "I would like to think that no one is willing to murder anyone, but I don't think we can depend on each other to not kill someone. Dead End is right in that we can't just blindly trust each other not to kill someone."

"Nice to see you're starting to see things my way," Dead End said with approval.

"Shut it! I'm not some fatalist. I'm just being… cautious is all," Bumblebee chastised him.

"Same thing, different name," Dead End brushed his claims off.

"So… what should we do?" Nautilator asked the room. "We can't just go wherever we want. The place is bigger and with that, we got more ways to kill each other and more ways to do it without any witnesses."

"Well, how about we stay in groups?" Jazz recommend.

"In groups?"

"Yeah. There's 24 of us, so why don't we stay in groups of six all throughout the days?" Jazz recommended to them.

"Huh, that could work. The killer can only kill two people, so the other five can keep any of them in line," Blurr agreed.

"How do we decide who goes with who?" Hoist asked, glaring at Mirage and Blast Off, the former looking away from his glare.

"Oh, can I do that?" Wildrider asked them. "I know an unbiased way of doing it!"

"You do?" Rewind asked nervously.

"Yeah. Just let me go to the general store in the mall and I can get it done A.S.A.P.!" he told them.

"Uh, right… can someone responsible go with him?" Jazz asked the room.

"I might as well," Perceptor murmured. "I can evaluate whether or not his suggestion holds any water when we're at the store."

"Okay, you two go out and get it done," Jazz ordered and the two headed out of the room. "Alright, Swindle and Rewind?" he requested them.

"What?" Swindle asked for the both of them.

"Can you two get started examining the footage?" Jazz asked them

"Uh, sure," Rewind agreed and the two got to work on the recording.

"So, we just wait here until Perceptor and Wildrider get back?" Mirage asked.

"Well, yeah," Jazz told them, and that was that. Everybody went and sat down in a seat… except for Ratchet. He was still looking at the scene where Optimus's dismembered body was. It was at that point that Jazz realized that Ratchet hadn't said a single word throughout the whole event. Jazz went up to him, saying "Ratchet? Are you alright?" he asked, which immediately made him want to slap himself. Of course Ratchet wasn't okay! If Jazz and Optimus were best buds, Ratchet and Optimus were the closest friends could ever be. Jazz has been processing this for almost two weeks while Ratchet was just having this bombshell dropped on him. He should've known better. "Hey, Ratch. I'm sorry… for not telling you about this sooner," Jazz mumbled guiltily, putting an arm around Ratchet's shoulders in a one-arm hug.

"This… can't be happening," Ratchet mumbled, staring at the scene. "We've thought Optimus died multiple times before, but this… looks so real. It looks so certain." Ratchet went quiet again as he continued to absorb the scene in front of him and Jazz continued to hold on to him, giving him the support he needs.

* * *

"Alright, alright, alright, the general store. I'm sure I saw a couple of things to help us out," Wildrider told Perceptor as the two entered the place, looking around. The cashier looked at the two of them and gave a small shake of his head to the two of them, but to Perceptor in particular. Wildrider didn't noticed the small detail as he leapt to one of the aisle and dived right in there. Perceptor a low groan in disappointment before heading over to the cashier.

"Uh, hello customer. Having a despairing day?" the cashier asked. "Monobear is really bringing out the big guns out on you isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," Perceptor agreed, staring down the cashier. He couldn't help but noticed that he seemed tense at seeing him. "Is there any problems that we should be aware about?"

"Uh, no. Nothing at all," the cash replied with false bravado. "I'm just here to make sure you get your thing and clear out, hopefully to murder someone." Perceptor didn't like that answer.

"Is something the matter? You're avoiding my questions," Perceptor questioned the AI.

"Do I have to repeat myself? No! Now will you be purchasing something or not?" That confirmed it for Perceptor. He was holding something back and he had to find out.

"Hmm, how about you-"

"Got it!" Wildrider announced appearing with a plain plastic box.

"A… box?" Perceptor asked.

"Yes! With sticks!" he told him, showing it off. "Thirty in a box," he told him before laying it on the counter. "All right, run it! How much?" Wildrider asked.

"Huh, two monocoins," the cashier answered, surprised that he bought this.

"Excellent," Wildrider said, getting two out and dropping it on the counter. "Thanks!" he told him before grabbing Perceptor's arm and dragging him out of the place.

"Hey, what the!" Perceptor said as he was dragged out. "What are you doing?" he asked him.

"Heading to the art department. _Duh_ ," Wildrider belittled him as he kept going.

"Will you stop?" Perceptor asked, pulling hard against him, causing him to stop.

"Huh? What?" Wildrider asked.

"What's your plan?" Perceptor asked him.

"Well, I'm going to go to the art department and paint the bottom of the sticks in one of four different colors and then we'll make people draw sticks to pick which group they're in," Wildrider told him." Perceptor paused at that and thought it through.

"That… actually sounds like a good idea," Perceptor agreed, surprised. "Unbiased, not subjected to anything but blind luck… you do have your uses."

"Hey, none of us would've last this long if we weren't a little smart. Besides, all the smart people are a little crazy," he told him, proceeding to drag Perceptor to the art department. Perceptor was much less resistant, although he still made note that he was dealing with a body defiler.

* * *

"Okay… how to determine if this is real or not?" Rewind asked himself, sounding a bit unsure of himself.

"Well, we have to examine it carefully, for starters," Swindle murmured. "Kind of obvious, but it's best to establish that first."

"Okay… so how do we do that?" he asked.

"Well, you've been in that room, right? Does it look like Autobot HQ?" the merchant asked him.

"Well… yeah. It does, if it was bombed by multiple K-classes," Rewind murmured. "It's been wrecked, but it does look like it. I recognize the placement of the Autobots symbols and the parameter of the building looks identical."

"Can we confirm it?" Swindle asked him.

"Well… let me do something," Rewind murmured, going into subspace and retrieving a black cord of some sort. "I mostly project my footage onto a wall of some sort, but I can plug myself into a computer," he mentioned, plugging the cord into a port for the computer and connecting it to the camera to the side of his head. Immediately, Rewind brought up his footage of Autobots HQ quickly. In the footage, it looked to be a meeting of some sort between Optimus and several important figures, including Jazz and Ratchet, as well as Metalhawk and Starscream. "Sometimes, they want me to record a meeting for posterity," Rewind mentioned before a bunch of algorithms came up for both of the recordings.

"What are you doing?" Swindle asked him, looking at all the formulas on screen.

"I'm comparing the two bases to see if they are exactly alike," Rewind told him. "They could've build a fake, but the exact dimensions of the building are unknown to the public, so if they match, then it's legitimate," he explained, doing the calculations for the cases before giving a sigh. "It matches," Rewind muttered bleakly.

"So, either that's real or they got the exact schematics for the base somehow and build one," Swindle murmured, looking at the footage.

"Yes, but the exact schematics are known to so little that I only found it out now. The only ones I know that could build a replica exactly like it are maybe some of the builders and maybe Red Alert," the archivist said. "I doubt any of the builders knew the exact ones completely and Red Alert is too paranoid of anyone to let that slip to anyone."

"So, it's likely that it's the real one," Swindle murmured, concentrating on Optimus's body.

"Yeah… what are you looking at?" Rewind asked him.

"Something very hard to notice," Swindle murmured. "Can you focus in on Optimus's head and neck?"

"Uh, yeah," Rewind agreed, blowing up the specific spot Swindle wanted. "What are you looking at?"

"Is it me, or does it look like his neck was ripped open?" Swindle asked. Rewind looked confused before looking closely at it.

"Yeah… it does," Rewind agreed.

"Focus in on that wound," Swindle told him and Rewind did so, concentrating on the spot. The two of them could see the wound clearly now and it looked like the throat was boned out, leaving on the spinal strut of the neck behind.

"Why… is his neck empty?" Rewind asked, confused.

"Is… his voice box missing?" Swindle asked, looking into it.

"It looks like it," Rewind agreed. "Now why did they do that?"

"Well… let's assume that Monobear and his group of terrorists did this. He wants despair so…," at that, the answer clicked in his head. "Rewind, who would you say was the symbol of hope for the future?" Swindle asked him.

"Uh. well… Optimus was," Rewind realized.

"Annoying idealistic, constantly wishing to see the best in everyone, he fits," Swindle confirmed.

"So they did this just to cause despair?" Rewind asked.

"I think that was their secondary goal," Swindle murmured, looking at the picture.

"Secondary? Than what was the main reason?" Rewind asked.

"I think that they wanted to rob the world of the voice of hope."

"They… wanted to do that?" Rewind asked, confused.

"It's all about symbolism," Swindle murmured. "A message. Hope is silent…." Swindle left off, looking glum. "I… never really cared much about Orion. He's always been more of a pain in my aft than anything else, but… he didn't deserve this," he said, sounding depressed. Rewind was also feeling the same, but he was confused on something Swindle just said

"Orion?" Rewind asked, looking at him.

"That's Optimus's name before he took up the Prime title," Swindle told him.

"I know. I just wondering why _you_ know," Rewind specified. Swindle looked nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, we knew each other back then. We weren't friends, but we got along. Of course, he didn't knew about all the weapons I was selling under everybody's nose to unsavory people, including Megatron, but he was alright to hang out with and he didn't mind all the things that he knew about me, although he was always suspicious of some of things about me. Before he could get any evidence of my dealings, Megatron happened and, well… you know the rest of that bloody mess," Swindle murmured. "I'm probably one of the few people who was actually in contact with both Megatron and Optimus before the whole war."

"Wow… I didn't know that," Rewind murmured.

"Good. I didn't want anyone to know," Swindle told him. "If the Decepticons found out that I was ever in contact with the leader of the fragging Autobots, then suspicions would be leveled on me and I couldn't allow that when I had deals to make with them," he told him. "Lots of my cash flow came from Decepticons looking for upgrades and better weapons. I couldn't risk losing all that."

"Huh, I didn't think you would ever know Optimus before the whole war," Rewind murmured.

"Yeah, well, I'm just full of surprises," Swindle told him with a shrug. "That's about as far as I knew him before the whole war thing started, but after the war ended, he himself went to ask me for help obtaining supplies from places outside of Cybertron. He knew what kind of person I am, but he knew I was the best at obtaining supplies and didn't let his bias affect his decision."

"He must've thought highly of you," Rewind said, looking a bit miffed. "All that I'm good for is recording things. I am pretty useless in the grand scheme of all the things going on here," he muttered.

"Hey, don't talk like that. You just help figure out the legitimacy of the footage here," Swindle told him.

"Yeah, but that's a pretty small thing that I did and Chromedome was always so much useful. He helped so much more than I did…," Rewind muttered, looking at the screen. "This is the first good thing I did here. Before that, all I did was get Chromedome killed."

"Uh…," Swindle murmured, looking nervous, "guess I sympathize. I mean, I was the primary factor for Vortex and Brawl getting killed as well. I had hurt Vortex and he was dazed enough that Brawl accidently finished him off. You can always say that I was completely okay due to the motive but…," he left off before getting back to Rewind. "Anyway, people we care about die. It's bound to happen. All we can do is make sure that they don't die in vain and make sure we get as many people out alive as we can," he told him. Rewind took in what he said, looking a little relieved to have someone else comfort him.

"Hound… tries so much to help me, but he hasn't had anyone he cares about die yet. He's good, but he can't completely help me. It's nice to talk to someone who knows what I'm going through," Rewind said, relieved.

"Well, we're all in this together, aren't we?" Swindle asked him. "If we don't, most of us will be killed. If we don't stand together, most of us will fall."

"And only one shall stand," Rewind murmured.

"Alright everybody! Ready to group up?" Came a voice from the doorway and the two of them turned to see Wildrider and Perceptor arriving from the doorway, the latter holding four cans of paint.

"We have a decent way of setting up the groups," Perceptor told them as he motioned for Wildrider to show off the way. Wildrider brought his hands up, showing off twenty-four sticks cupped in his hands.

"Alright everybody. Each stick has a bit of paint on the bottom that I'm hiding right now. Pick one and group up with the ones who got your color," the manic explained to them, showing it off. "When you get your color, use one of the paint cans that Perceptor brough to paint a streak on you with your group's color. Now, who's first?"

* * *

A few minutes later, everyone had grouped up with the colors they got from the sticks. Red group had Jazz, Onslaught, Beachcomber, Nightbeat, Bludgeon, and Nautilator together in an awkward formation. Yellow group was Bumblebee, Wildrider, Ratchet, Drift, Scavenger, and Skywarp. Blue group was Perceptor, Rewind, Swindle, Hound, Mirage, and Blast Off. Purple group was Mixmaster, Hoist, Smokescreen, Knock Out, Dead End, and Blurr. Each group had decided to put a streak around one of their forearms.

"Right, looks like we're all grouped up," Jazz said, looking around.

"So, we stay with this group until the motive's gone?" Skywarp asked, rubbing Laserbeak softly.

"It would be the best thing," Perceptor said. "I also recommend that we sleep together in someone's room so that someone doesn't slip out in the night and do something."

"It seems like a foolproof way to prevent a murder," Onslaught said, approving of it.

"Alright, let's show this bear that we won't fall for his schemes. There isn't going to be another murder," Bumblebee ordered them. "Let's roll out!" he dramatically told them.

"I fly, you moron," Skywarp chastised.

"I have an animal form," Nautilator told him.

"Ah! Whatever," Bumblebee muttered. "Way to ruin the moment."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice that Autobots curse in human terms and Decepticons curse in Cybertronian terms. This is mostly due to Autobots being closer to humans and picking up some words from them to add to their language, as Blurr showed in Chapter 3. Just a fun fact.


	48. Chapter 4: Shifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the sabbatical. Back to the regular schedule paranoia.

**RED GROUP**

"Right…," Jazz murmured, looking over his group. "What do you want to do?"

"Strategies," Onslaught murmured.

"Eating oil balls," Beachcomber said, really wanting some.

"Katas," Bludgeon bluntly said.

"Investigate the school," Nightbeat stated.

"Uh…," Nautilator mumbled, "I guess nothing works for me."

"Okay… not very helpful," Jazz told them. "I was hoping there was a consensus on what to do."

"I say we take my suggestion," Nightbeat told them. "We can't waste out time with useless trivialities."

"I find strategies on how not to get everyone killed to be a good way to spend the time," Onslaught rebuked him. "We need to come up with plans and a schedule to abide by so that everything goes smoothly during out time together."

"We've already split up into groups. There is no need to take further measures aside from watching each other," Nightbeat countered. "We need to investigate the school for more clues."

"And I say we concentrate more on safeguards against murders so another one doesn't happen," Onslaught badgered him, getting in his face.

"We already have enough. We just need to start searching for more clues," Nightbeat said, not backing down, glaring up at him.

"Will you two be silent?" Bludgeon asked the two, holding his head in pain. "Your bickering is helping no one." The two continued to glare at each other before they reluctantly backed off from each other.

"Fine, but how do we decide what to do?" Nightbeat questioned his group.

"I say we take a majority vote," Onslaught offered.

"I guess that could work," Nightbeat agreed.

"Wasn't I supposed to be leading this group…?" Jazz murmured.

"Alright, if you side with me, raise your hand," Onslaught told the other four. No one did. "Hey, are any of you voting?"

"It would appear not," Nightbeat murmured.

"I rather not do anything with you two at each other's throat," Bludgeon told them.

"Yeah, you two fighting is kind of not good," Beachcomber murmured in agreement.

"Oh, you're kidding me," Nightbeat mumbled before addressing them. "We're not fighting, we're just… disagreeing harshly with one another."

"Sounds like fighting," he noted.

"Okay, I think that's enough," Jazz said, getting in the fray. "Obviously, this isn't going very well."

"Their fault," Nautilator immediately blamed the two arguing.

"Keep out of this," Nightbeat told him.

"Hey, I'm part of the group too," he complained.

"Yes, but you're extraneous," Nightbeat told him bluntly.

"H-hey, that's not nice!" Nautilator pointed.

"You're point being?" he questioned. "We don't have to be nice to each other."

"But you will be since I'm here," Bludgeon growled, cracking his knuckles together.

"Huh-huh… yeah," Nightbeat murmured, feeling annoyed. "I see your point. Most exemplary."

"Your sarcasm is noted," he glared down at him.

"Hey, calm down everyone! We're struggling together here," Beachcomber reminded them. "We all have one enemy and that's Monobear and whoever's controlling him."

"He's right. We should be working together, not fighting," Onslaught agreed. Everyone went quiet as they all remember the main enemy here.

"Well then," Nightbeat spoke first, "since we need to be working together, it's probably best to have one person in the lead so that we don't fight." He turned to Jazz. "Jazz, since you're the highest ranking person here, I recommend you."

"Fine with me," Onslaught agreed. "Any problems with him leading?" No one spoke up.

"Well…," Jazz murmured, "guess that's good. How about we all head to the mall and get supplies for staying in the room together. We're going to need them for the time together."

"Lead the way," Nightbeat told him.

* * *

**YELLOW GROUP**

"I love oil balls," Scavenger said before popping one in his mouth.

"For once, I agree with you," Skywarp agreed as he popped one in his mouth. He gave a moan in enjoyment before he saw Laserbeak glaring at him. "Oh, you want one?" His pet perked up and shook his head yes. "Here you go," he said, laying it in front of him, letting him nibble on it.

"Is that healthy for him?" Scavenger asked him, watching Laserbeak nibble on the ball.

"I don't know," Skywarp admitted, "but it looks like he enjoys it."

"That probably a bad thing," Scavenger murmured.

"Oh, calm down. He'll be fine," Skywarp told him.

A little away from the two, Bumblebee watched the two suspiciously as Drift was busy comforting Ratchet and Wildrider was doing… something. Bumblebee was suspicious of all three of the Decepticons, particularly Wildrider, and was pretty nervous about Ratchet's sanity due to the shocking reveal about Optimus. As far as he could tell, Drift was the only one he could rely, but he will probably be spending all of his time with Ratchet to try and make him feel better. That meant that Bumblebee could only rely on himself to get anything done and be a leader.

He really wished he was leading a more stable group.

"What up?" a voice asked, causing him to jump and turned to Wildrider on his left, staring intently at him.

"Primus, Wildrider. Could you be less quiet," Bumblebee asked him, before realizing something. Wildrider… being quiet. There was something wrong with that. "Why are you so quiet?"

"Uh, I wasn't. You were too busy glaring at the two oil-ball eaters to concentrate on me stomping loudly to you," he told him.

"Well, then do everything louder. I want to know where you are at all times," Bumblebee told him. "Especially you."

"Is this about that desecration thing?" he cheekily asked. Bumblebee glared daggers at him. "Right… that isn't very nice," he told him.

"Do I even have to comment on the hypocrisy in that statement?" he asked him.

"That's mean," Wildrider muttered, "but I promise, I won't do anything… this motive."

"Come again," Bumblebee asked.

"I'm saying, relax. I'm on your side for now," Wildrider told him. "Don't you think me doing anything again so soon would be suspicious? I am here to help."

"You're being very lucid and sane right now," Bumblebee noticed suspiciously.

"What can I say, I have layers," the manic told him. "Like taking apart a dead body."

"And you're back to disturbing," the scout quipped. "Stay in my sight at all times."

Meanwhile, Drift was busy comforting Ratchet at a nearby table. "Hey, Ratchet, everything will be alright. You got that?" he asked him, sitting next to him.

"H-How can you said that?" Ratchet questioned, his voice breaking. "You s-saw it, didn't you? You can't fake that!"

"Well… something has to be fake. Optimus dying that easily and without us knowing is impossible and you know it."

"We've lost t-the m-m-memory of an unknown a-amount of time. You know t-this, there's no denying it. Anything c-could've happen in that time and we wouldn't know it now."

"H-Hey there's no need to say that. We've haven't seen the body, right?" Drift told him. "Maybe all of that was some computer-generated image of some sort. It could all be fake." Drift knew that sounded like a pathetic reason. The way Jazz's footage looked and the way his own footage looked was all too real.

"Do you even believe yourself?!" the medic angrily asked him. The swordsman flinch, but didn't move away.

"To be honest? No," Drift admitted, "but, you're still alive. I'm still alive. 22 other people are. Doesn't that matter?" he asked him.

"If the outside world is like the videos make it out to be, then _no_. The fact that we're still doesn't matter one bit," Ratchet argued, glaring at him deep in his optics. Drift noticed that Ratchet was speaking better the angrier he got. "What's the point of surviving if the world outside is dead again. All that we worked for, all the deaths that occurred because of the war, would be for _nothing_!" he continued to rant causing the others in the group to look at the two.

"Uh, Ratchet, could you calm down?" Drift asked him nervously.

"Why?!" Ratchet badgered him.

"Well… do you think Optimus would want you to act like this?" Drift asked him.

"Huh?" Ratchet asked, startled.

"Well, do you think Optimus would just want you to give up at a time like this?" Drift clarified. "I mean, he could be dead, the world could be burning down again, and you're just… giving up like this?" Ratchet optics brighten as he talked, taking in what he said. "Optimus always wanted us to keep going, hoping for the best, no matter how bad it got. We should be honoring him by moving ahead and not giving up until we're dead." Drift finished his speech with as much bravado as he could muster. Ratchet looked away, contemplating his words, lightly tapping his fingers on the table before giving a small, rough smile and looking back up.

"Fine… I'll keep going," Ratchet murmured, sounding withdrawn. "I'll keep going until someone kills me." Drift gave a smile back and replied:

"I won't let that happen."

* * *

**BLUE GROUP**

"Okay," Perceptor muttered in the AV room with his group, "is there any way to prove conclusively that these videos are real or fake?"

"Well, I compared the schematics of the building in Jazz's footage with the real one and they match," Rewind mentioned, sitting in front of the screen. "The only one who could've known it is probably Red Alert and maybe a couple of builders, but none of them seemed like they wanted the world to die again."

"And I've taken a look at the disk itself," Swindle mentioned, sitting beside Rewind. "It was custom-made, very high quality. You would have to try very hard to break it. I looked for any way to track it to anyone or figure out exactly what it was for, but that led nowhere."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Hound asked the two, standing behind Rewind.

"I don't know…," Rewind said bleakly. "I would say that the footage is real, but considering what's on it, I really don't want it to be…"

"No one does," Mirage mentioned, sitting away from everyone, "but if the evidence supports it, we have no choice but to believe."

"He's right," Blast Off said, standing behind Swindle. "We can't just reject the obvious when all signs point to it. We have to accept that Optimus Prime is dead until we get any conflicting information."

"Ugh," Hound groaned. "I wish we didn't have to. If he's actually gone.…"

"Get that out of your mind," Perceptor told him. "While it is grim news, we can't let it affect us at this moment. We'll grieve once we're out of here."

"I know," Hound agreed. "We need to concentrate on escape."

"And… how do we do that?" Swindle asked. "He's blocked every exit with indestructible objects, stripped us of our weapons except with what he provides, and is a giant slagger."

"He makes a valid point," Blast Off agreed with some hesitation. "It seems impossible to escape with our current information."

"Well, then we'll just if to search better," Hound said. "There has to be a chink in his armor that we can take pierce."

"Well, that is going to take a lot of effort to expose," Blast Off mentioned. "The mastermind has prepared his twisted multiple times for previous players. He has learned from each of those groups and will use that against us."

"It seems so hopeless," Rewind said. "How can we beat someone who's ahead of us every step of the way?"

"Rewind, don't say things like that," Hound told him. "That's exactly what he wants us to think."

"He's right," Perceptor agreed. "If you find the situation hopeless, you're doing exactly what he wants you to do."

"They make a fair point," Blast off agreed. "I refuse to just roll over and die in the face of adversity."

"Uh, well…," Rewind muttered, "I'm sorry. You're right. Chromedome wouldn't want me to just give up like this."

"It's okay," Swindle said, looking sympathetic. Rewind remember hearing about Swindle having a meltdown after the second trial so he must know how he was feeling.

"Okay, what should we do now?" Blast Off asked the room. "Since this is as far as we can go with the videotapes, we should pursue another angle."

"Or we could take it easy and wait until the motive is over," Hound recommended. "I rather not risk anything that could get us killed."

"Okay, time for a vote. All of those of going for another lead, raise, you're hand," Perceptor told the group. Mirage and Blast Off raised their hand. "All who want to take it easy, raised their hands." Swindle, Hound, Rewind, and Perceptor raised their hands. "Majority rules. We relax for now."

"Fine… so what now?" Blast Off asked the group.

"Well, how about we head to the lunchroom. I imagine we'll be regrouping for diner soon," Rewind mentioned.

"Alright, sounds good," Perceptor said, heading for the door. "Let's head out."

* * *

**PURPLE GROUP**

Knock Out stared at the purple line on his shoulder, resisting the urge to just claw at it and be rid of it. The offensive streak… made him _asymmetrical_. He really wanted to just paint over that ugly, murky purple with his beautiful, lustrous red, but that would violate the rules that his group had made and he didn't want anyone to lecture him on it.

So he complained instead.

"Must we continue to have this eyesore on our shoulders?" he asked the group, who was chatting with each other in the casino.

"Uh… yes," Hoist bluntly told him.

"Honestly, do we really need it?" he asked them.

"Hey, it doesn't hurt to be careful," Smokescreen told him, paying attention to the blackjack game he was playing. "Hit." The dealer did as he was told and laid down another card next to Smokescreen's cards, a six and a seven, which revealed an eight, giving him a 21. "Hell yeah!" The dealer glared at him and laid down two cards quickly for his two card and scored a twenty. He laid down another card, knowing he would lose if it wasn't an ace and was disappointed when it revealed a two.

"My, how… despairing," the dealer muttered before handing enough monocoins that double Smokescreen's current stack.

"That's how I roll," he said, greedily taking it in before putting three-fourth of his stack in. "Come on, let's go!" The dealer glared at him before dealing out the cards. Immediately, he grimaced when Smokescreen was handed an ace and a jack. "Blackjack!"

"Yahtzee!" Knock Out mocked him before turning to the other four as Smokescreen took in an even bigger stack. "Seriously, if we could all just go to the art section-"

"No," Mixmaster rejected.

"No one asked you, you color impaired monster," Knock Out told him, grimacing at Mixmaster.

"Hmph, it's not easy being green-and-purple," Mixmaster muttered.

"Now, if we could just-"

"Would you be quiet? You're interrupted my reading," Dead End interjected, glaring at him from behind a datapad.

"Why you snobby, nihilistic poet," Knock Out grumbled at him. "If we could-"

"Can you learn to shut up?" Blurr asked him, glaring at him. "Dead End's vain, but he knows how to keep his mouth shut," he said, nudging the poet with his elbow, throwing him slightly off balance, but recovered quickly. The poet glared at the racer before turning to extremely vain.

"He's correct, now do what we say and shut up," he told him, going back to his datapad. Knock Out gave a small growing noise and buried his face in the table. He wallowed in his misery as a comforting hand laid on his shoulder. He looked up to see Hoist looking sympathetically at him.

"Look… I'm not one to care for looks-"

"Obviously," the fashionable 'Con mumbled.

"-but I know you do, and I would like to let you paint that off, but we have to make sure everyone gets out of this situation alive. The best way to do that is to make sure everyone follows the rules we give to each other and stand united as a group," Hoist tried to inspire him. Knock Out glared at him before sticking his head down in the table, thinking about it. After a few seconds, he looked back up at the repairer.

"Okay, but if anyone dies during out time with this abomination streaking on my shoulder, I'm punching you in the face," Knock Out threaten him. Hoist stared at him, confused, before giving a small chuckle.

"Alright, if you say so," Hoist agreed.

"Good," Knock Out said, burying his face in his hands, "now leave me alone." Hoist glance down at him bemused before turning back to the other's conversation.

* * *

At seven, the groups rendezvous at the back at the cafeteria. "Alright, is everybody settling in their groups alright?" Jazz asked everyone. Everyone gave answers comparable to yes. "Well, that's good."

"So, we're going to stay in someone's room together, right?" Hound asked the room.

"Yes, correct," Perceptor confirm. "Of course, we'll probably need two people to watch everybody while we're sleeping, just in case."

"You want to take three three-hour shifts?" Onslaught asked him.

"That will work fine," he agreed.

"Ugh, way to ruin by beauty sleep," Knock Out complained openly to them.

"Hey, it never hurts to play it safe," Rewind told him.

"Ugh…," Knock Out groaned.

"Anyway, I'll guess we'll decide amongst ourselves which room to sleep in as a group," Hoist mentioned.

"And, most importantly, who will get the berth," Swindle mentioned, rubbing his neck. "My neck cables still haven't gotten over when Bludgeon forced the rest of us to sleep on the floor."

"Which I will have again, _no complaints_ ," Bludgeon told his group.

"Wow, you're really protective of a bed," Swindle pointed out.

"Well, I believe we're done, right?" Jazz asked the room to assenting agreement. "Alright, that's good."

* * *

*Ding Dong*

"This is an announcement. It is currently 10PM. Please rest peacefully," Monobear's voiced rang from the speakers as Jazz's group enter his room.

"Alright, so have we agreed to the shifts?" Jazz asked everyone. "Me and Beachcomber will take the first, Onslaught and Nightbeat will take the second, and Bludgeon and Nautilator will round it out."

"Works fine," Bludgeon agreed, taking his place on the bed and relaxing.

"Fine," Nautilator agreed, taking his place next to the bed.

"Understood," Nightbeat agreed, sitting against a wall.

"Stay safe," Onslaught told him, sitting against the wall near the entrance. Within ten minutes, they four of them were recharging leaving Beachcomber and Jazz by themselves.

"Well, just the two of us," Beachcomber muttered, rubbing his head.

"Yeah," Jazz muttered, leaning against the wall. "I'm guessing you agreed to the first shift due to your insomniac activities."

"Yeah," Beachcomber mutter, taking a seat in a chair at the table. "I hope the next three days go well."

"Yeah…," Jazz murmured. The two stayed silent as they looked around the room. This didn't last long.

"Hey, do you wanna talk?" Beachcomber asked him.

"Huh? About what?" Jazz asked him.

"Do I really have to tell you?"

"…No." Jazz got up and took a seat across from Beachcomber. "Alright, so what exactly about the project do you want to know."

"How much can you tell me," Beachcomber asked, glaring at him.

"Well, I guess you can ask about whatever you want," Jazz said with a shrug. "With Counterpunch's death, I see no reason to keep it hidden, so it should be safe to disclose anything."

"I want to know everything," Beachcomber told him.

"Well, good thing we got several hours to each other," Jazz murmured before he began explaining.

* * *

"Alright, me and Wildrider will take the first shift, Ratchet and Drift the second, and then Skywarp and Scavenger will finish it off," Bumblebee announced to everybody.

"Right, you got it!" Drift nodded with approval as he turned to Ratchet. To his surprised, it looked like he was already sleeping on the berth. Drift stared sympathetically down at him before taking a seat next to him and entering recharge state as well.

"Well, good luck," Scavenger said as he took a seat at the wall and started recharging. "See you in six hours…."

"Huh," Skywarp murmured, before he took seat with Scavenger and drifted off as well.

"Well," Wildrider murmured at the table, quietly drumming his fingers on the table, "just the two of us."

"Yeah…," Bumblebee murmured, taking a seat across from him. The two silently looked at each other, before Wildrider spoke.

"So… you want to swap stories?" he asked.

"Stories?" Bumblebee asked to make sure.

"Yeah, unless you just want us to stare at each other for three hours. That's… cool," Wildrider mumbled, sounding bored.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt," Bumblebee muttered. "What do you want to know?"

"Something cool! Something dangerous! An adventure filled with explosions!" Wildrider somehow managed to whisper loudly.

"Uh, well… there was this one thing me, Optimus, Hound, Drift, and Crosshairs did together. It has a lot of the things you like," the scout told him.

"Oh, intriguing," Wildrider muttered in anticipation before thinking it through. "Who's Crosshairs?"

"Paratrooper. Green-and-black. Sarcastic as all hell," Bumblebee told him. "Looks like he's always wearing a trench coat."

"Oh, yeah! Him. Carry on," Wildrider beckoned.

"Uh-huh, well, the five of us were on a planet called Devola…."

* * *

"Right, me and Swindle will take the first shift, followed by Mirage and Blast Off, then Rewind and Hound finishes it off," Perceptor informed everyone. Everyone gave a nod of acknowledgement and went to recharge. Rewind slept on the berth and made Rewind room for Hound to recharge with hm. Hound looked surprised before lying next to him and started recharging. Blast Off and Mirage glared at each other before taking a seat on the floor at opposite ends of the room and started recharging. Perceptor and Swindle glanced at each before taking a seat at the table together.

"So… what to do until we're done with our shifts?" Swindle asked him.

"Well, it would be wasteful to do nothing, so let's talk," Perceptor told him.

"About what?"

"Whatever. The past, the future, or the present. Anything you want," Perceptor told him.

"Oh, well… how about the future?" Swindle asked him. "When we get out of here, what are we going to find?"

"That? Well, I don't know. If all of the footage are real, then we'll be walking into a destroyed world again," Perceptor murmured. "Dilapidated buildings, dead bodies, the works."

"How nostalgic," Swindle murmured, rubbing his head nervously. "Sounds like we're back at the apex of the war."

"Yes, it is," the scientist agreed.

"Hmph, 75 years of Reconstruction, down the drain…."

* * *

"Hmm, so it's decided?" Dead End asked everyone.

"Yes. Blurr and Knock Out will take the first shift, Hoist and me on the second, and Dead End and Mixmaster will finish it off," Smokescreen asked everybody.

"That seems fair," Dead End agreed.

"Hmph, at least I didn't get the middle shift," Knock Out said with disdain as he went and took a seat at the table, with Blurr mimicking him, sitting across from him. Dead End laid down on the berth while the others went and took a seat with their back to the wall and began recharging, leaving the two speedsters by themselves.

"Well, just the two of us," Blurr murmured, relaxing in his chair.

"Yeah, I guess so," Knock Out murmured. "So, who do you think will be the next one bumped off?"

"Huh?" Blurr asked, looking at him oddly. "Why are you asking that?"

"Look, I'm not going to pretend that another murder isn't going to happen, despite the restricting circumstances," the medic replied coolly. "If people are determine to get out of here, then they will murder someone."

"Huh, well, you can't be certain," Blurr mentioned.

"Plus, the person who assaulted Scavenger is still alive, don't forget that," he reminded him. "That's at least one wildcard we have to worry about."

"Dammit," Blurr murmured. "I wish you didn't remind me of that."

"What? Is the truth too painful?" Knock Out questioned.

"I… just don't want to be reminded that we can trust no one here," Blurr told him. "IT's a comfort that I didn't realize I was taking for granted."

"You get used to it," Knock Out told him apathetically, looking away to the ones sleeping on the walls. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Huh?" Blurr asked, dreading it.

"Who do you think is going to die next?" Knock Out repeated.

"Uh, well… I can't answer," Blurr told him. "Have you given it any thought?"

"Some," Knock Out confirmed. "Right now, I'm hedging my bets on either Mirage, Blast Off, Nightbeat, or Dead End."

"Why?" Blurr asked.

"Dead End's making enemies and ticking pretty much everyone off with his constant pessimism, Nightbeat is too good at his job, and the two aristocrats are starting to get at each other's throat. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them dies next."

"Huh, you really did thought it through," the racer noticed.

"Well, if you got time, you might as well think about survival odds," Knock Out mentioned. "This is a game of survival."


	49. Chapter 4: Shifts (2)

"So, feeling the pull of the motive?" Nightbeat asked Onslaught from his spot at the kitchen counter, sipping a glass of energon. They were currently mid-way through their shift.

"Nor particularly," Onslaught told him as he relaxed in a chair by the table. "If I murder anyone, I would be putting my men at risk and I can't risk that."

"How fraternal of you," the detective muttered to himself as he looked around the area. "Think anyone else is?"

"Undoubtedly," the tactician answered. "We've all probably lost something during the war. It isn't too far-fetch to think that someone could be thinking about it… even you."

"Hmm…," Nightbeat mummed to himself, ignoring the accusation.

"Got something worth killing for in order to obtain?" Onslaught asked, glaring at him.

"…Maybe, but in our current situation, I don't care about it," he answered.

"Now why is that?"

"It's for a personal reason," Nightbeat told him. "I'm not giving you my backstory."

"Huh? Why not?" Onslaught asked, confused by Nightbeat lie of questioning.

"The less you reveal about yourself, the longer you last. Don't you ever read mystery novels?" Nightbeat questioned him.

"Not really. I'm more of a reader of strategy guides than mystery books," he told him.

"Well, if you're reading a book with a dwindling cast, the one who give out the least amount of backstory live longer, because the reader wants to know them and having the explanation end with his death just doesn't make for a satisfying read," Nightbeat told him. "Get some character development and reveal some personal backstory, you're guaranteed to be the next to die. I've noticed that happening in the previous murders."

"Nightbeat, this is real life, you know that, right? No one is writing all the words from your mouth," Onslaught tried to calm him down.

"Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't," Nightbeat muttered. "For all we know, someone is planning every last detail of our lives to the nitty-gritty details."

"…I don't like where this conversation is going," Onslaught muttered. "Too metaphysical."

"Want to move to a different subject?" Nightbeat offered.

"I guess. So… about who's behind this, who do you think it is?" Onslaught asked him.

"To be honest, I don't know exactly," Nightbeat confessed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "If I were to make a guest, I could point to a few conspiracies."

"Conspiracies? So you have baseless guesses," he specified.

"They're not baseless. They're just… a bit out there," the detective defended his position.

"Right… what are some of these theories, may I ask?" Onslaught asked him skeptical.

"Well, my first guess would have to be The Institute," Nightbeat told him.

"Uh, background information for the thankfully ignorant," he asked him.

"Well, The Institute is basically some sort of widespread shadow organization that subtly affects the population at large," Nightbeat told him.

"An organization called The Institute, which is a singular pronoun, is wide-spread and affects the population at large? Wow, you might actually be more loony than Wildrider," the tactician bemoaned.

"First off, it's _shadow_ organization. Second, it uses a singular pronoun to make us think that there is just one building when in fact there are multiple amounts, all engaging in controlling the masses through scrambling with their brains of some sort," the detective explained to him.

"Wow… you're crazy."

* * *

"I hate the silence," Drift pouted to Ratchet as the two of them sat at the table. Ratchet stayed silent, turning his look around the room blindly, paying attention to nothing in particular. Drift knew that Ratchet was still greatly affected by Optimus's apparent death, but he had to do what he to do whatever he could do to make Ratchet stay sane. "Hey Ratchet, can you at least talk to me?" he asked loudly, not caring if the others heard.

"Huh, what?" Ratchet mumbled, turning his gaze towards Drift. "You want something?"

"You're fading out, Ratchet," Drift told him. "You're not paying attention to anything."

"Oh, apologies," he mumbled. "Just that, Optimus…."

"Yeah, I know. We're all affected by it, even those who never cared much about him. He was an iconic figure to those who didn't know him and a close friend to those who did… especially you," Drift said sorrowfully. "But, that doesn't mean we just shut down when he dies. He expects us to live on when he dies. No one lives forever."

"But they can live for a long time," Ratchet murmured. "Cryostasis, a good doctor, healthy source of energy, and good social skills can make one practically immortal. I was just foolish enough to think Optimus would be like that."

"Well, I guess it couldn't be help. He still had a lot of enemies who wanted him dead."

"To go along with that, Rung said he had something called a martyr complex. He would do whatever he can to make sure the Autobots would win, even sacrifice himself for it, even if it isn't necessary."

"Yeah… how many false reports of Optimus's death were there?" he asked.

"Hmph, well, let me see," Ratchet murmured, thinking it through with the faintest trace of a smile on him. "If I remember correctly, roughly 40, probably higher."

"Wow… that's pretty impressive. I bet no one else can claim to have died that many times," Drift chuckled.

"Hmph, no, I don't think so," Ratchet chuckled along with him.

"Imagine when they got the report for Optimus's death the twentieth time or so. They're probably like 'Seriously, he died again?'"

"Nah, I think they'll be like 'Are you absolutely sure he died this time? Got a body and everything?'"

"Yeah, that would probably be more likely," Drift agreed.

"Yeah…," Ratchet murmured, thinking things through. "You know, all we got was a video. We don't have the body itself."

"Exactly," Drift said. "It's too soon to call it quits on Optimus yet."

"Yeah… I guess," Ratchet assented. "I don't think we'll know until we open those doors and be met with the smell of life or death."

* * *

The two aristocrats glared at each other as they waited out the shift. Blast Off was glaring with a cold malevolence, sitting still in his chair in a relax position that reeked of disdain. Mirage was a bit more revved up, twitching slightly in is chair, as if he just wanted to reach over the table and bash his brains in. If the others weren't in the room, he might've actually done it.

"My, my, I remember when you were better at keeping your emotions in check," Blast Off murmured softly, taking a cube of energon from the table and drinking it slowly before slowly putting it back. "You've gotten soft over the years."

"It's been an adjustment. With the Autobots, you learn to depend on everyone, not just _yourself_ ," Mirage defended himself. "You don't have to be afraid to show your emotions to them. They won't attack you for it, barring a few exceptions."

"There's exceptions to every rule, isn't there?"

"Yes, I guess so. After all, you were an exception with the Decepticons as well if I remember correctly."

"Hmm?" he mummed.

"Well, you and the rest of the Combaticons seem to care for each other, as do the other Gestalt groups in general," Mirage noted. "You're sub-zero personality becomes lukewarm with them. Minor, but noticeable."

"Hmpf, well, I've learn that, in order to survive, you have to cooperate. Megatron would encourage the strong to survive, but if we work together, everyone can, not just the strong," Blast Off explained. "May seem odd to hear that coming from me, but the gestalt program wasn't exactly a choice. I was forced to be with them. None of us knew each other beyond the barest tales from other people. With the gestalt program, we were all force to share a bond, one that can't be broken by anything except death. Naturally, we all found it mutually beneficial to actually get to know each other and learn out strengths and weaknesses, what we enjoyed, what we hate, every important detail. Yes, believe it or not, learning to trust each other was what made us such a feared force."

"A house divided falls while a house united stands," Mirage murmured. "The Autobots realized that and cooperated with each other and won. You lost due to the fact that your army was just a fragile alliance between a bunch of criminals and psychopaths."

"Stereotyping, are we?" Blast Off noticed, a little amused. "You know as well as I do that just as many of our ranks were simply desperate people wanting change. Simply saying that it was a army of thugs and killers is disingenuous, although it certainly fit the reasoning for some of our ranks."

"More like a majority of them," Mirage murmured.

"Oh, so you went and did a meet and greet with all of the Decepticons in the army and came to the sound conclusions that most of them are irredeemable psychopaths? I never knew you were so thorough," the sniper snarked.

"It's a reasonable assertion," he affirmed his belief.

"Hmm… no it isn't. At best, I'll give you 30%," Blast Off offered. "We have a nice variety of socio-and-psychopaths, but an army filled with them would be inefficient. It basic logic."

"Hmph," he grumbled. "That's just your assertion."

"Your patriotism is amusing."

* * *

"So, you want to ditch this place and go somewhere else?" Smokescreen asked Hoist, bored.

"You're kidding… right?" Hoist asked. Smokescreen responded by looking at him with the most serious face that he could muster.

"This. Is. Boring," he emphasized each word. "I need to do something besides waiting on what is obviously nothing."

"Nothing is a _good thing_. Leaving the room is what allow incidents to happen, you moron," the repairer chastised.

"The word you are looking for is murders, you politically correct stick-in-the-mud," the gambler chastised him. "Honestly, do you think, after the results of the past three murders, that anyone will be considering murder?"

"I not sure, especially concerning you."

"Especially concerning me? What? You still think I'm a viable suspect for being the serial killer?"

"Yes. I have no evidence, but then I have no evidence for anybody else either. That means I have to treat all of you in equal regard," Hoist reminded him.

"…Damn, that sucks," Smokescreen murmured, rubbing the back of his head. "Jazz won't tell us anything, so even if he's already proofed that I couldn't have done it, we don't know."

"If Jazz made any significant progress, then he would've told us by now," he told him.

"Huh, I guess you make a good point."

"Exactly, we have to watch you for two good reasons and I won't stop watching you."

"Right understood. It's still… very… two reasons?" Smokescreen asked, confused. "I thought you just had to worry about me assaulting Scavenger."

"Huh! Oh, well, you don't have to worry about it. Trust me, you don't want to know… unless you already know."

"I have no fucking clue," he informed him, "but I'm immensely interested now."

"Drop it," Hoist threaten, glaring at him. Smokescreen flinched at his glare before he replied.

"Alright, fine… if you tell me what going on between you and the aristocrats," Smokescreen offered.

"Why is _that_ relevant to you?" Hoist asked, surprised.

"Well, we're drinking buddies, aren't we?" Smokescreen told him.

"It was one time."

"Once is enough. Everyone who drinks with me once is a drinking buddy," he assured him. "Now, wanna explain to me."

"Hmm… fine," Hoist murmured before he began explain the situation between him, Mirage, and Blast Off.

"Huh, rich people problems. I never understand them," Smokescreen murmured.

"I'm not rich, in case you haven't noticed.

"Yeah, I know. You're the average joe of the group here. Not really many distinguishing factors about you, barring your skills to repair things, which _is_ magnificent."

"Great job with the backhand compliment there. It really soften the blow of your insults," Hoist remarked harshly.

"Meh," Smokescreen murmured. "Well, is my description of you not accurate?" Hoist flinched at that comment and he smirked. "Knew it. Now, will we talk about solving your problem as quick as possible?"

"Well, we'll have to wait until the motive is-"

"No we don't," Smokescreen told him. "We just have to get out group with the other group tomorrow and get a reconciliation going."

"But, didn't we separate to avoid having too many people to watch at the same time?" he questioned him.

"Yeah, but I'm sure we'll be fine," Smokescreen told him.

"But, it's best to be safe rather than-"

"Oh! How about the mall? The security you and Mirage made are still here and active, right?" Smokescreen remembered.

"That… that's right! It would discouraged anyone from committing a murder there," Hoist realized. "Good idea."

"What drinking buddies are for."

* * *

"Well… just the two of us," Nautilator murmured as him and Bludgeon were on overwatch. Nautilator was slouched over his chair while Bludgeon sat straight. Onslaught had taken charge of the bed while Nightbeat was sleeping against a wall next to the bathroom.

"Yes, it is so," Bludgeon agreed, drinking a cube of energon. "How astute of you."

"Your sarcasm is noted."

"Hmm…"

"Anything you want to talk about?" he question the metallikato expert.

"No. You?"

"Uh, well… not really," the (un)luckster replied. "Just another day in murder academy, in which no clues are known and people have a tendency of dying, usually violently."

"Blunt, but accurate."

"Yeah…." Nautilator thought something through. "So, what's your plan?"

"My… plan?" he wondered.

"Your plan for what you're going to do when we get out of here," Nautilator specified.

"Ah!" Bludgeon gasped. "I thought you were asking how I was going to murder someone."

"Nonono," he squealed out. "We don't need to think about that. Let's think happier stuff."

"Hmpf… if you want to think of happier stuff, I would think you want to talk about the past, because the future is so uncertain right now," Bludgeon offered. "But, if you must know, if the world has been ruined again, then I have no choice but to cooperate with everyone else to survive. If the world is fine, then I guess I'll take my leave to a place in isolation."

"You really like being by yourself, don't you?" Nautilator questioned.

"Hmm, well, it's a thing that I used to now. I have no one to follow, so it's best to be alone."

"But, do you have to?" Nautilator questioned.

"No, I just prefer it. Question is, why are you so interested in me?" Bludgeon turned on him, causing Nautilator to recoil in his chair.

"Noreason, leaveitalone," Nautilator babbled quickly.

"Hmm, such a telling answer," Bludgeon muttered. "You don't have many allies, do you?"

"Ugh! Well…," Nautilator trailed off before speaking again, "I'm not exactly popular in many circles… or any, really. Nobody really likes me because I'm consider a giant failure."

"Not an entirely inappropriate response to you," Bludgeon murmured.

"But, you seem to tolerate me, which puts you a step above how most people treat me," Nautilator told him happily.

"…You must have _really_ low standards," he gapped at that. "I don't have friends here."

"You're close enough," Nautilator murmured. "I tried a lot of things to get people to like me, but the only one who seem to have any interest is the _DJD_ and there is no way I'm being associated with them. They probably who want me for my voice, creepy fraggers."

"Of course…," Bludgeon sourly murmured.

"I mean, those psychos just want to torture and maim and kill and…," Nautilator continued to rant as Bludgeon continued to watch over him with a bored expression.

* * *

"How's Laserbeak doing?" Scavenger asked, examining the bird closely on Skywarp's shoulders.

"He's doing fine," Skywarp told him, lightly rubbing the pet's neck. "He's been drinking more energon, which is good. He wasn't drinking much energon at first, and feeding him the high-grade really didn't help him, but he's doing better. Should be eating normally soon."

"Oh, that's good," Scavenger said, leaning over to pet him.

"You do that, he'll cut you," Skywarp told him with a glare from Laserbeak to go along with it. Scavenger wisely backed off.

* * *

"So, what are you thinking?" Hound asked Rewind as he fetched a cube of energgpn for the two of them.

"I'm just thinking about stuff: Chromy, Counterpunch, and the one who is keeping us all here, especially…," Rewind left off, sitting in his chair.

"I figured," Hound muttered, walking back and placing a cube in front of Rewind. "Drink up, we won't be recharging until 10PM." Rewind glanced up at him sadly before he took the cube and drank from it."Alright, good," he murmured before taking a seat across from him.

"Sorry about the morbid thought process, but all I could think about is revenge against the mastermind thinking of ways for him to die. Shooting, stabbing, slicing, acid, bur-"

"Uh, Rewind, could you calm down?" Hound interrupted his imaginative scenarios. Rewind paused, looking at Hound with a sheepish expression before muttering:

"Sorry. Just that, revenge against that bastard would be so wonderful, I can't help but think about it. Whoever he is, he's responsible for all the terrible things here, directly or indirectly, and needs to be held accountable for it."

"By killing him wherever he stands?" Hound questioned him, causing Rewind to finch. "Look, killing him is an enjoyable prospect – in fact, I think it's the only way it's going to end – but thinking of all the ways to kill him would be lowering yourself to his level. Frankly, you need to calm down and think about other things." Rewind looked away, not wanting to face Hound's glare. Hound looked at Rewind's hunched up shoulders and withdraw expression to know that he should be softer.

"Come on, don't shut down," Hound comforted, getting up and getting close to him, wrapping his arms gently around him. Rewind squirmed a bit before relaxing in his hold, comforted by his friend's embrace.

* * *

Dead End calmly read his datapad while Mixmaster sat calmly in his chair with a twitch every now and then. It was nearing seven, which meant that Monobear would chime in soon for a new day. Mixmaster lightly tapped his finger on the table, staring at Dead End intently, who didn't let that slip his notice. He had been ignoring him for the most part, but nearing the end of the watch, he decided to finally address him. "Yes?" he finally spoke.

"Are you… suicidal?" Mixmaster asked him. Dead End paused in his reading to look up at him.

"What makes you think that?" Dead End questioned.

"I got tracts in my arms where I inject myself with needles. I can see the lines on your arms where you cut into them, although they're very faint. Obviously, you try to buff them out to make yourself look perfect," Mixmaster surmised, causing him to flinch at that.

"Well… good optics," Dead End muttered, going back to reading his datapad of poems.

"Nightbeat pointed out the injection marks on my arms, so it made me pay a bit more attention. Knowing how you act, I can see why you would do it, but I don't get why you still haven't finish it. Why are you still alive?" Mixmaster question him.

"Hmph, wouldn't you like to know?" Dead End muttered, sidestepping the question.

"Why don't you answer me?"

DING! DONG!

"This is an announcement. It is now 7 am. Have a wonderful day."

"Well, that was interesting. Maybe you would want to continue this conversation next time," Dead End said, getting up, as well as everyone else moaning and rising from slumber. "It's another day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to finally have someone die this chapter, but I fell for the foul temptress known as character development. Next chapter then.


	50. Chapter 4: Severe Color Theory

_Day 14_

"And how is everyone this morning?" Jazz asked everyone as they met up at the cafeteria again for the day.

"Fine, I guess," Bumblebee spoke for his group.

"We are doing fine as well," Perceptor answered, ignoring the less than clean looks the aristocrats were giving at each other.

"We're good," Smokescreen answered with a thumbs up.

"Alright, good," Jazz sighed in relief. "We made it through the night."

"This time," Dead End murmured.

"Ignoring the cynic," Wildrider grumbled, glaring at his gestaltmate, "are we going to actually do anything _fun_ today?"

"We'll keep doing what we were doing yesterday: stay in our groups and make sure nothing happens."

"Uh, can I give a suggestion?" Smokescreen asked.

"Huh?" Jazz muttered. "Is there anything wrong with how we're doing things?"

"Uh, I just want to briefly combine my group with Perceptor's group," Smokescreen said.

"Is there any particular reason why you want to do that?" Perceptor asked him, confused.

"Uh… reasons?" Smokescreen asked with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, for the love of…," Jazz grumbled. "Can you name one of those reasons?'

"Well…," Smokescreen nervously try to think of one.

"Because he wants to help me," Hoist told him, cutting in. "I… need to talk to Mirage."

"Huh?" Mirage gasped, turning his gaze over to him. "You… want to talk?

"Yeah… in private," Hoist told him.

"Well, while that is understandable, I have to keep you sep-"

"There's cameras in the mall that we haven't taken down. We can use that to watch each other with the bigger group," Mirage covered for him.

"You remembered that?" Hoist asked.

"I helped with that, didn't I?" he remind him, before turning to Jazz. "Let us be grouped together, please."

"Urg…," Jazz grumbled, thinking it through carefully before he gave an answer. "Fine."

"Alright," Smokescreen said, getting up. "Let's go out."

* * *

"I wouldn't have let them pair up," Nightbeat told Jazz as they were hanging out in the library.

"I know, but they're in a secure area. I think they will be fine," Jazz told him, looking up some datapads.

"So you say, but given enough determination and desperation, people will do anything, regardless of the circumstances. "

"I know," he murmured, "but I want to trust them enough for this."

"Of course you do," Bludgeon mocked. "It's best just to keep them apart from each other."

"You gotta keep 'em separated," Nautilator told him.

"Hey, we can trust them… I think," Onslaught 'defended'.

"Whatever," Nightbeat murmured. After that, there was a brief silent before the only one who haven't spoke up talked.

"So… what are we doing looking up datapads?" Beachcomber asked. "It feels like we've been here and done this already."

"Well, I want to go back into the archives today and I consider this a warm-up," Jazz told them.

"We've haven't been there in a while, I must admit," Bludgeon agreed, "but do we still have too? We've barely made any progress in our search for information despite having all the information on our hands."

"He has a point," Beachcomber murmured. "We've kinda hit a brick wall… or whatever these walls are made of," he pointed out, looking around at the unnaturally hard walls.

"I know, but spend enough time chiseling at it and we'll get through it," he tried to encourage of them.

"Do we have the time?" Nightbeat questioned him.

"Uh, well, I hope so," Jazz awkwardly chuckled.

"Hmph," Nightbeat grumbled.

"Well, if you think so, it's worth a try," Onslaught assented. "Anything that can get my soldiers out of here is worth a try."

"Well, it's worth trying if it can help us get out," Nautilator agreed.

"As much as I think it will lead us to nowhere, I'm not know to just give up and die," Bludgeon remarked.

"Well, we got nothing to do, so we might as well try," Beachcomber agreed. "This place is pretty boring once you get past the murders and the chance that someone will kill you."

"…Ugh, I might as well quit being cynical and hope for the best," Nightbeat agreed. "Fine, when do we search?"

"How about an hour?" Jazz asked everybody.

"Works fine," Nightbeat agreed with everyone else assenting.

"Alright, let's warm-up."

* * *

"Alright, why are we in the lounge?" Ratchet questioned Drift as him, Drift, Bumblebee, and Scavenger sat at a table in the third-floor lounge. Wildrider was in the back messing around with a string instrument of some sort and Skywarp was busy feeding Laserbeak and himself some extra energon.

"Relaxing, of course," Drift said, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his back. "We can't be paranoid all the time."

"Can we… just relax a little bit?" Scavenger asked him, munching on some spare oil balls.

"Well, I guess we can," Ratchet murmured, looking sour. "Just don't blame me if someone dies."

"Relax, we're all in a room together and we're all relatively pleasant with each other," Bumblebee told him, glaring at Wildrider doodling around with the instrutment. "Relatively."

"Hey, morons," Skywarp greeted them as he took a seat in-between Ratchet and Scavenger with Laserbeak resting on his shoulder and a cube in his hand. "What's going on?"

"Ratchet being a grumbler," Drift answered, ignoring the insult.

"So, nothing new," Skywarp said before taking a drink his cube.

"I hate to be the new Dead End, but it's reasonable," Ratchet remarked. "The only one I can trust is myself and Drift. Maybe you as well." He pointed at Bumblebee.

"Why can't you trust anyone else?" Drift asked. "Surely you can trust the other Auto-"

"Chromedome," he interrupted, shutting up Drift before he could finish the sentence. "He was one of ours and he had Rewind with him and he still killed someone. If he could crack, than anyone can." The group stayed silent as Ratchet's point was made. Ratchet got up as they contemplated what he said and went to the bar. "I need a drink," he murmured, leaving them alone. The four of them watched as he retrieved some low-grade behind the bar and started sipping one.

"Who do you guys trust the most here?" Drift asked suddenly, catching everybody by surprised, before someone responded.

"Why do you want to know that?" Skywarp asked, looking suspicious.

"Because, well… Ratchet is not doing so good right now and we all got people we care about in here right? I figure we all agree to watch over them for each other, you know?" Drift asked them.

"Well, Mixmaster and me are both part of a gestalt, although it really isn't much. I want me and him to at least get out of here alive, even though it isn't likely," Scavenger told them.

"Well, since you already claimed Ratchet, I guess I'll take Perceptor. He may be overly smart, but I like him a lot," Bumblebee said.

"Eh, I couldn't give two scraps who lives or dies, as long as me and Laserbeak get outta here," Skywarp said, rubbing the latter gently. "However, if you force me to choose, I guess I prefer it if Nightbeat gets out with me. He got me off the hook for Shockwave's murder and that makes him okay with me."

"Well, alright, I guess those were the answers I expected," Drift murmured.

"You know, instead of worrying about our friends, we should worry about everyone. We got to make sure we get as many people out alive as we can," Bumblebee told him.

"I know. It's just that… losing Ratchet would be a terrible thing, you know," the swordsman replied.

"I know, it's hard for me to properly describe it, but it would be hard for me to deal with it."

"Hey guys!" Wildrider yelled, jumping over the back of a chair and taking a seat where Ratchet was. "How's it going?"

"Oh, you. Nothing much," Bumblebee muttered in disdain. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, I just came here to throw in my two cents since you guys are all doing it," the manic mentioned casually.

"Two cents?" Drift asked.

"Simple. In the event that I die or murder someone and you find out, make sure the cynical gestaltmate of mine gets out, alright?" he requested of them.

"Uh, sure, I-"

"Nuh-uh-uh. Pinky swear on it," he told them, leaning forward and sticking his pinky out. "All together." The group awkwardly looked at each other before reluctantly doing as he told, wanting to get him out of here as fast as possible. The group interlocked their pinkies as one and each of them giving a firm shake of their pinkies before retracting it back quickly. "Thanks guys. See you later," Wildrider thanked them before jumping up and heading back to his section.

"Well," Bumblebee muttered, "that officially goes down as the weirdest thing I've ever done."

"Ditto, and I've done a lot of strange things," Skywarp agreed.

* * *

"Now then," Perceptor murmured, looking at everyone, "the twelve of us are here at the mall. What now?"

"Well, how about we pair up?" Smokescreen asked them. "Me and you; Hoist and Mirage; Swindle and Blast Off; Rewind and Hound; Dead End and Blurr; and Mixmaster and Knock Out?"

"Well, I guess that works well enough. Are we all in agreement?" he questioned everybody. Everybody gave either a nod, a simple yes, or a meh that show that they didn't cared. "Alright, then pair up and separate."

* * *

"Why exactly do you want to help Hoist and Mirage so much?" Perceptor asked as he stared into the security camera monitors that they elected to do. So far, everyone was just hanging around and talking to each other.

"Eh, I don't know. I kinda like the guy," Smokescreen shrugged.

"Hmm, he seems very nondescript, aside from his repairing skills," the scientist noted.

"Well, yeah, and I think that's why I like him. He's so average it's impossible to hate him," Smokescreen muttered. "Plus, I find his and Mirage friendship cheesy in the good way. Snobby, haughty upper-classman friends with the everyman? It has classic fairy tell written all over it," he answered.

"Hmm, I guess, although Blast Off sure loves to bug himself in-between those two," Perceptor noted. "Probably classist."

"More than likely," Smokescreen shrugged. "Probably hates being with the Combaticons."

"He probably used to, but you saw him after Vortex and Brawl's death, right? He cared for them," he reminded him.

"Ugh, yeah, I remember," the gambler said. "Actually felt really bad for them."

"As did I… made me worry that some of my friends will die."

"Any of them dead?"

"Chromedome, I guess. We used to be colleagues before we branch off into different paths of science. Didn't think he actually kill somebody," Perceptor murmured glumly.

"Well, at least it wasn't a murder, like Monokuma insists that it was. He did it to protect Rewind," he said.

"I think that makes it worse," Perceptor replied, "especially for Rewind. He probably feels guilty over that."

"Well… yeah," Smokescreen shrugged. "Hound's basically Rewind's 24/7 suicide watch."

"He's doing a good job at that," Perceptor praised. "Rewind's demeanor has been getting better."

"Yeah, but he's never be the same. Hell, if any of us get out alive, we'll never be the same," he gloomily mentioned.

"'If?' How cynical," Perceptor scoffed.

"Yeah… sorry. I should keep my spirit. We are going to get out. I'll don't know if the rest of us will make it out, or if I will, but I know some of us will. We're too determine. After millions of years of war, we'll do anything for peace," Smokescreen encouraged himself.

"Okay, maybe too optimistic," Perceptor gave his judgment.

"It showed pretty easily, huh?" Smokescreen deflated. "It's impossible to be optimistic ere."

"You're right, but let's not be pessimistic. I don't think this building could handle any more Dead Ends," the scientist cheered him up.

"Ha! That's for sure. Thanks for that."

* * *

"So, how have you been?" Mirage asked Hoist as they looked around the repair store, eyeing the products.

"Uh, fine…," Hoist murmured, feeling awkward.

"Yeah. Same, considering the circumstances," he replied. "So, are we still friends?"

"I… still haven't decided," Hoist said.

"Well, I understand," Mirage murmured. Hoist easily noticed the sadness that was coming from his voice. "I guess it's good to think it through."

"I'm sorry, it's just that, with all that's going on, I've had other things to worry about," Hoist told him.

"Well, we're here. Let's talk it out," the aristocrat recommended, turning to him. "I want to be your friend."

"I know, but… this situation we're in is hell-bent on killing us. I… I don't want to be too heavily affected by it, and if I die, I don't want anyone else to be affected by it as well. I'm sorry, but if both of us make it out, then I'll gladly be friends with you," Hoist explained to Mirage. Mirage stared at Hoist with a defeated look before muttering something so low that Hoist couldn't hear it. "Are you okay?"

"Look… when is you turn at night?" Mirage asked.

"Uh, second," Hoist told him.

"Good, same as mine…."

"Mirage, what are you thinking?" the repairer asked him.

"Listen… do you think you can sneak out tonight at two and meet me in the repair bay?" Mirage asked. "I have something to give you, in case I don't make it."

"That's against the rule!" Hoist shouted, getting in his face. "Can't this wait?"

"No… I have to get you this tonight. Please, meet me there. I"ll convince Blast Off to let me go and you can convince… who's with you?"

"Listen, this is madness!"

"Who?"

"Smokescreen, now quit thinking about this!" Hoist yelled at him.

"Alright… you could bribe him with some monocoins. He's been racking those up," Mirage kept saying, ignoring him.

"Would you shut up about-"

"Hoist! _Please_ , just do this. It'll only take a few minutes at the most and we'll be fine," Mirage begged him.

"But… but." Hoist couldn't decide about what he wanted to do. On the one hand, Mirage seemed exceptionally desperate and it was really suspicious. On the other hand, there's no way he would risk murdering him if Blast Off knew he would be out with him alone, so it was probably for another reason, such as that thing Mirage wanted to give him. "Fine," he gave in. "Once my shift starts, I'll try convincing Smokescreen to let me out to meet you. Don't wait there forever though, just in case someone else is out that night planning something."

"Hoist, no one else will be out that night. Nobody else will risk it. It'll just be the two of us and everything will be fine," Mirage comforted him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "No one will interfere."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

"Why the frag are you picking fights with people in a situation like this?" Swindle berated Blast Off as the two of them examine datapads in the reading store. Swindle was currently looking at a datapad titled 'Make Money Fast: 50 Easy Ways to Earn Cash,' while Blast Off was reading 'Internal Peace Against Absurdness: How to Calm Your Rage Around Idiots.' Both datapads were noted for their extreme popularity.

"I'm not picking fights, I'm just stating truths," he replied coolly, slowly looking through the datapad.

"Stating the truth is a good way to pick fights," he rebutted, being quicker with his datapad.

"Well, maybe, but I don't think I need to worry. Mirage knows that if he kills me, he'll be primary suspect number 1," the sniper replied.

"Yeah, unless somebody else here kills you so Mirage can act as a scapegoat," the salesmech argued.

"Well, that is a certain possibility, but I have a suspicion that someone will target Mirage instead of me. They would probably assume me to be the more likely to murder and pin the blame on me," Blast Off rebutted.

"Maybe, but it's still something I wouldn't chance," Swindle told him. "You're running the risk of somebody trying to kill you and I would be careful around these type of people. I don't trust any of them as far as I can throw them."

"And considering you're size, that isn't much," Blast Off mocked, poking fun of his short stature.

"Hey, watch it. I got feelings you know," he muttered, glaring at him.

"I know. That's what makes it so fun," the tall mech said, looking down on him.

"Yeah, whatever," Swindle murmured, putting the datapad up and Blast Off doing the same. The two walked off, heading for the exit.

"So, what happen between you and Onslaught about your snuff collection," Blast Off asked.

"Just to let you know, I _sell_ them, not _watch nor make_ them," he told him.

"Great, now quit dodging the question," he chided him.

"Well, if you must know," he said, fixing him a glare as they exited the store, "he gave me a rather stern lecture about ethics and how deprave snuff films are." Blast Off could practically feel Swindle rolling his optics. "I have no idea why he cares so much. We aren't boy scouts, we're trained mercenaries that engaged in a several million years war. Selling snuff films are small time compare to how war was."

"Hmm, true, but Onslaught can be an old-fashioned bot at times. He is older than a lot of people," Blast Off reminded him.

"I know, but still, there's bigger things to be worried about than selling snuff films on the side," he defended himself. "Where you wanna go?"

"Electronic store sound good?"

"I guess so."

* * *

"I heard good things about these oil balls. Let's try'em out," Hound said at the mall's tables as he opened up the bag and picked one out for him and Rewind. Hound quickly popped one in his mouth while Rewind retracted his faceplate and slowly put one in, being careful about the sweet. Both of them gave low groans of enjoyment before reaching in and quickly inserting them into their mouths, greedily enjoying them.

"Oh, this was a good idea," Rewind said in pleasure as he finished the oil ball.

"I see why Scavenger enjoys them so much," Hound agreed with him. The two of them continued their assault on the oil balls, consuming around ten each before taking a break. Hound looked pretty fine, but Rewind was groaning, his intakes upset. "Oooooooh, I think I ate too much," he moaned.

"Well, you are pretty small. You're designed to consume less than other mechs," he told him.

"Yeah… still hurts," the archivist complained.

"Oh cheer-up." Hound chuckled, patting his back good-naturedly.

"Oh, I think you're making it wooorse," Rewind moaned.

"Right, sorry," Hound chuckled, putting his hands up in a defensive position. "It was not my intention to hurt you."

"Yeah… too late," Rewind grumbled. "What's in those balls."

"I don't know, but they're pretty filling," the environmentalist said, rubbing his stomach area. "I'm pretty full as well, although not as much as you."

"Yeah… I think I'll take a nap," Rewind murmured.

"Well, let me take you to the sleeping area here and I'll nap with you," Hound told him.

"Thanks," he said, slowly getting up from the table with Hound following along. "Oh, my systems can't take this."

"It'll be fine. Just recharge it off so it can be diluted and you'll be fine."

"Oh, I hope you're right."

* * *

Surprisingly, the last two groups decided to hang out with each other and we're currently in the upgrades store, looking around. "An upgraded booster for increased speed? Now that sounds nice," Blurr said happily as he looked at it.

"Is there more than one?" Knock Out asked a little ways away from him, staring at a bunch of different paint jobs to see if any looked better than his.

"There sure is," he replied.

"Excellent."

"You two are talking like you expect to get out of here," Dead End murmured, Looking at a buffer. Could increase that shine…

"Well, excuse us for having some ambition," Knock Out chided, glaring at him. "Especially from someone who buffers almost as much as I do."

"I like to look proper," Dead End defended himself.

"A nihilist who likes to look proper? Yeah, right!" Blurr chuckled, glancing at him before looking at some other upgrades.

"It is the truth," Dead End shrugged.

"Do you also only drink healthy stuff? High-grade could spoil those little insides of yours," Knock Out mocked.

"I drink some every now and then," Dead End replied.

This session went on for a while, leaving Mixmaster hanging out by the entrance depressed.

* * *

At lunch, everybody regrouped back at the lunchroom. "So did you accomplish what you needed to do?" Jazz questioned Smokescreen.

"Did you and Mirage talk it out?" Smokescreen him.

"In a sense… I'll let you know more tonight, but we should be fine now," Hoist answered.

"Oh, goody. The divide has been lessen," Blast Off mocked next to Onslaught.

"We don't about what you have to say," Hoist backtalk to him.

"Oh my, is that aggression? You're actually a little interesting now," Blast Off continued to talk down to him.

"Oh, whatever," Hoist exasperated, "we're good for now. What else can we do?"

"Well, I guess we're good for now," Jazz murmured. "Is there any other things we gotta do?"

"I see no reason to group up and diverge from our groups," Perceptor told them.

"We're good," Bumblebee announced for his group.

"Same," Smokescreen assented.

"Okay, so we'll just hang around until night comes. After that, we go to out rooms and continue out shifts," Jazz told everyone. "I hope we all do good for the night."

* * *

The day went by like any other. Red Group spent the majority of their time in the mall and stuck together, although Onslaught and Nightbeat both disappeared for for a few minutes before showing up again. Yellow group stuck together in the med-bay, making sure everything was right there, with Ratchet and Drift keeping there distant from the others and were mostly talking with each other. Blue group hanged around in the library, rerading books to themselves and every now and then being out of each other's sight, but they were all fine. Purple group spent their time going between the casino and the repair bay, mostly staying together

* * *

Hoist woke up to Blurr shaking him up. "You're turn," Blurr told him as he slumped himself next to the wall. "Have fun." Hoist got up sluggishly as Knock Out was already recharging and Smokescreen was waiting by the table, still looking tired. Hoist trudged on over and took a seat in front of him.

"Heeeeey," Hoist said a bit slowly, tired.

"Yeah," Smokescreen murmured.

"Listen, I can't believe I'm asking this, but-"

"Mirage is being a dumbass and asked you to meet him tonight, didn't he?" Smokescreen bluntly asked him.

"How the… yeah," Hoist disappointingly admitted.

"I figured," the gambler murmured. "When?"

"Two."

"Alright, listen, at two, we used this pipe," he showed off a pipe that Hoist just now noticed, "to block this door when we leave and go meet Mirage together. I don't trust leaving you there by yourself," he told him.

"Wow… that's nice," Hoist murmured, understating it.

"Just be ready. Freshen up before it's time."

* * *

"Alright, door's blocked," Smokescreen told him.

"Great, let's go," Hoist told him. The two of them quickly made their through the interconnecting hall through the library and made their way to the mall. The two were almost at the mall when the two of them noticed a couple of people on the first floor.

"Hey, Onslaught and Blast Off, what are you two doing out?" Smokescreen asked the two of them down below. The two of them jumped and looked up at the two.

"W-what the… why are you two doing up?" Onslaught stammered, surprised.

"I came to meet up with Mirage," Hoist told them.

"Aw, yes, he mentioned that," Blast Off murmured.

"So he's there?" Hoist asked them.

"He should be," he shrugged.

"Alright… now what are you two doing up?" Hoist asked them.

"Nothing you need to know," Blast Off brushed him off.

"That sounds suspicious," Smokescreen murmured.

"Uh, look, how about we go with you to Mirage and you don't ask anything else," Onslaught asked him.

"Well, I guess that's okay," Hoist agreed.

"Seriously?" Smokescreen questioned.

"Alright, let's go to… wherever you need to go," Onslaught murmured.

* * *

"Repair Bay, nice," Onslaught murmured.

"Yeah, let's go inside," Hoist told everyone.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" a voiced asked and they turned to see Nightbeat emerging from the med-bay. "Onslaught snuck out while I had to clean myself in the bathroom and now I find all of you?"

"It's nothing…," Onslaught murmured.

"What are we here for?" he asked.

"I just came to see Mirage and they decided to escort me," Hoist told them.

"Mirage? How many of you are up?" he asked them.

"It should just be us," he told them.

"Alright, let's go see him then," he said, moving up and opening the door. They were immediately greeted by dimmed down lights from being nighttime.

"Mirage?" Hoist asked.

"Hoist? I'm back here," Mirage called out from behind the behemoth. For some reason, he sounded in pain.

"Are you fine?" he asked, running over to the behemoth and looking behind it. "What the!?"

"Yeah, I'm not doing too well," Mirage moaned, a jagged spike from the behemoth protruding from his chest. Energon was all over the spike and Mirage's chest.

"W-who did this?" Hoist blabbered, holding onto Mirage.

"You know, I think I'm losing it," Mirage mumbled, a dazed look in his optics. "You should fine my presents. You'll need it for later."

"No I don't. I just need you to tell me who did this!" he yelled.

"You'll figure it out, just find my present, please," he told him, his eyes going dark and his body going limp. "I wish we could've been... friends."

"We are! I'm sorry!" Hoist shouted, holding onto him. The others had come behind him and looked at the corpse and the mourning friend. That kept going until a few seconds letter, they heard the noise they all dreaded.

*DING DONG! *

"A body has been found. A quick period of investigation will occur before a class trial!"


	51. Chapter 4: Investigating the Behemoth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a while. Nothing much. Just an investigation.

"Well, this is unfortunate," Blast Off muttered, crossing his arms angrily. "Who's going to get the others?"

"I'll go," Nightbeat replied sadly. "I will inform them of Mirage's death and bring them here." Just like that, Nightbeat rushed out of the room, leaving the others behind.

"Why… why did you have to die? Why did you have to make such a stupid decision to come here?" Hoist questioned, still clinging to the corpse.

"Hoist… please let go. You're contaminating the evidence," Onslaught murmured sadly.

"He's not evidence! He's my friend!" Hoist turned to yell at him, stomping over to him. "Why do you have to be so removed?"

"Look," he said, grabbing him by the shoulders, "I know what you're going through. I went through this with Vortex and it hurts, but you have to calm down and not mess with the evidence."

"Speaking of, doesn't anybody find this room too clean for a murder?" Smokescreen asked, looking around. Indeed, aside from Mirage and the protrusion sticking out from his chest, nothing in the room had energon on it and the place seemed to have been cleaned up. "It's like the killer cleaned up before departing from the place."

"Without finishing off Mirage?" Blast Off asked. "That's quite strange of the killer. Naturally, if you're going to kill someone, you would actually finish them off before cleaning the area."

"Maybe they wanted him to suffer?" Onslaught guessed.

"Why would they want him to suffer? Would that imply that… they had a grudge?" Hoist asked, glaring at Blast Off, who noticed it.

"Don't give me that look," he warned him. "I have nothing to do with this."

"I don't know anyone else who had a grudge against him," he pointed out.

"That doesn't mean someone doesn't have a secret grudge against him," Blast Off reminded him. "We don't know everything about everyone here."

"You're still the one with the most reasons to kill him," the repairer pointed out.

"Does one need a reason to kill here?" Blast Off asked him. "Last I check, anyone could can do it."

"What happen!" the panic voiced of Bumblebee asked as rest of the teachers entered led by Nightbeat.

"It's as I told you, someone killed Mirage," Nightbeat said as they led them to behind the behemoth where Mirage was, resting against it with the spike protruding from his chest.

"Shit!" Blurr immediately reacted. "Who the hell did this?"

"That's for you to investigate and find out!" Monobear cheered, coming out of hiding. "My, it looks like Mirage is a bit 'stuck.' Pupupupupupup!" Monobear joked.

"Would you shut up, you bastard!?" Hoist shouted at him. "He's dead because of you. You cause this!"

"Uh, no I didn't. Seriously, I saw the footage. It wasn't me!" Monobear exclaimed, shock by the accusation.

"Listen here, you-"

"Hey, calm down!" Nightbeat yelled, getting in front of him. "Monobear set this up, but one of us pushed him on that spike and we have to find them."

Hoist glared into Nightbeat's optics, obviously angry, bur relented, backing off. "Well, where do we start?" he asked.

"Well, you can start with the Monobear File I gave you," Monobear told him with a shrug.

"Oh, that," Hoist mutter, getting his electroID and looking it up.

**Ammo Gained: Monobear File #3**

**Victim: Mirage**

**Location: Repair Bay**

**Cause of Death: Pushed against a spike, leading him to bleed out.**

**Time of Death: 2:00 A.M.**

**Additional notes: Time of death is when he died, not when he was pushed against the spike. Victim had no traces of anything in his system.**

"Very straightforward," Ratchet murmured. "I wonder if me and Knockout even have to do an autopsy."

"If you can figure out when he was impaled, that would be very helpful," Perceptor mentioned.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you, so bye-bye!" Monobear shouted as he departed.

"Well, nice to see he's still an annoyance," Perceptor sarcastically said. "Now, can we figure out the time?"

"Figuring out when someone was impaled is a lot harder than figuring out when someone died," Knock Out responded.

"So, who will be the one leading the charge for the next killer?" Dead End asked.

"Well, me and Hoist can account for each other," Smokescreen told them.

"Hey, were you the ones who barricaded the door?" Blurr asked, glaring at the two of them.

"Uh, yeah," Smokescreen confirmed, a little nervous. "Also, since we barricaded the door, everyone in our group has a good alibi."

"Hey, are we sure we can trust them?" Skywarp asked, glaring at them. "They could be working together."

"Please, I would throw Hoist under the bus as fast as I can if he was the killer and I can confirmed I was with him the whole time," Smokescreen told them. "I care about my life more than his."

"As do I," Hoist agreed. "I wouldn't lie for Smokescreen."

"Alright, so Purple Group will lead the investigation?" Perceptor asked.

"Seems the most reasonable," Bludgeon agreed.

"Hey, our group is good too. Me and Ratchet stayed in our room the whole time," Drift told them.

"So Yellow Group as well?" Knock Out asked.

"Seems like it," Hound agreed.

"The rest of you can look around, but stay with your groups," Blurr told the rest.

"Well, best get started," Hoist said, looking at Red Group and Blue Group. One of the eleven had to be the one to kill Mirage and they had to figure it out.

_Investigation Start!_

**Detectives: Yellow Group (Bumblebee, Wildrider, Ratchet, Drift, Scavenger, Skywarp) and Purple Group (Mixmaster, Hoist, Smokescreen, Knock Out, Dead End, Blurr)**

"Okay, where to start?" Hoist asked out loud to himself.

"Well… obviously we need to look around the area," Nightbeat said, standing next to Onslaught. "That and start establishing people's alibies, such as where were you when I went to the bathroom momentarily to wash up?" he said, glaring at Onslaught next to him.

"Well, I wanted to go out for a little bit," Onslaught told him.

"Why is that?" he asked, glaring at him.

"It has nothing to do with Mirage's murder," Onslaught told him, turning away from him.

"Uh, exactly what are you two going on about?" Hoist questioned the two of them.

"At around 1:15, Onslaught spilled some energon on me. When I got out of there at 1:20, he was gone," Nightbeat said, glaring at him. "I left the room to go fine him."

"And I implore you to believe me when I say that it has nothing to do with Mirage's murder," Onslaught rebuked.

"Well, you won't tell us, I imagine, but at least it gives us something to work with," Smokescreen murmured.

"And what's that?"

"If the two of you were both not in the room, then the other people could exit without anybody knowing, correct?"

"Yes," Nightbeat flinched. "I thought I could find Onslaught quickly and get right back, but he is elusive. I'll add the lack of alibi for our group."

**Ammo Gained: Red Group's Lack of Alibi**

**After 1:20, both Nightbeat and Onslaught were not in the room, giving no one a definitive alibi after 1:20.**

"Now, why were you gone, Onslaught?" Hoist asked.

"It's a secret," Onslaught told him.

"And I'm guessing it's between you, Blast Off, and Swindle," Smokescreen asked.

"No, I have no idea what's going on with them," Swindle said, walking up to talk to Onslaught. "What the frag were you and Blast Off out of your room for!"

"Me and Blast Off had to do something together," Onslaught told him.

"And _what_ was it?" Swindle asked, crossing his arms and glaring up at him.

"Nothing that concerns you," Onslaught told him, shrugging him off.

"Ons, what secrets are you keeping from me?" he growled at his commander.

"You'll find it out if you need to, now get back to the investigation." Onslaught turned away, indicating that the conversation between him and Swindle was over.

"You muffled slagger," he growled, walking off while inputting something in his electroID. "Whatever's going on between you and Blast Off will come out at tribal today."

**Ammo Gained: Onslaught and Blast Off's Secret Rendezvous**

**The two met last night around the time of the murder for unknown reasons.**

"Hmph, no idea why you're doing this, unless you were busy-"

"No, Smokescreen, I wasn't busy impaling Mirage, now go away," he rebuked. "Now quit wasting your time with me."

"He's right. We got a lot more to do," Hoist told Smokescreen.

"Yeah, you're right, like how clean this damn room is," Smokescreen told him, walking away from Onslaught.

"Yeah…." Every single area was cleaned, leaving no evidence that a struggle had occurred in the area. A close look can see that pretty much everything was clean. The behemoth, the floor, the tables… it was all clean.

"The killer left nothing behind for us to use," Smokescreen muttered, scratching his chin. "That's going to make things hard to find things out."

"Unfortunately."

**Ammo Gained: State of Repair Bay**

**Aside from the body and the spike, nothing in the room looked like a struggle happen, having look like it's been cleaned up.**

"Hey, medics, how's the autopsy going?" Smokescreen asked, not noticing the flinch that Hoist gave at that.

"Besides the obvious?" Knock Out chuckled as him and Ratchet looked into the corpse. "He was impaled. Not much else. The killer kept it nice and clean."

"I hate siding with him, but he's right. Come back later and we might find something of interest," Ratchet told him.

"Well, that's great," Smokescreen muttered as the two walked away. "Well, what now?" The two looked around. Everyone that had a full-proof alibi was looking through the room and was having a rough time. Red group was hanging around the tables in the back, checking for any clues and coming up short. The innocent groups were busy looking over the rest of the area, minus Swindle, who was not in the room as well as the blue group.

"The killer is making this really hard," Hoist complained.

"Yeah, we're finding between nothing and nada," Wildrider complained, exasperated.

"Well, we'll have to spread our search then," Perceptor said, heading for the door. "Since the killer has clean the crime scene, we're going to have to hope he didn't have time to clean the other areas, if he's been there." Everyone looked at each other before heading out, leaving Smokescreen and Hoist behind with the medics.

"We've got a lot of work to do if we want to find this killer," Hoist muttered. "A room this clean means the killer know what they're doing."

"Yeah, we've got a tough trial on our hands," Smokescreen muttered.

"Speaking of hands," Knock Out said as he pried Mirage's right hand open, "it looks like Mirage has something in his hand." He held it out for the four others to see. The item appeared to a handle with a button. Knock Out pressed it, revealing a blade with energon on it.

"Well, that's revealing," Ratchet muttered, looking at it. "I didn't noticed anyone with a wound on them."

"But we weren't looking for wounds before," Knock Out muttered.

"Before the trial starts, we should check everybody for knife marks," Ratchet ordered.

"Sounds like a good idea," Smokescreen said with a smile as he stretch his arm out to take the knife. "We'll take it to the weapons to see if we get any info out of it."

"Sure," Knock Out agreed, handing it to him. "have fun."

**Ammo Gained: Energon-Stained Knife**

**A knife found in Mirage's right hand, stained with energon.**

"Alright, let's explore the other area and see if we can find anything else," Smokescreen told Hoist and the two went off to the rom intersecting the three rooms and the hallway to the mall. Inside, they saw Dead End loitering around the area, sitting against the wall with a datapad.

"Dead End, what are you doing?" Smokescreen questioned him.

"Reading."

"Why aren't you investigating?"

"Because I think you can do fine without me. Several people went to the casino and the medical bay to look for clues. The two group of suspects went to the mall with Swindle watching over them," Dead End informed them.

"Alright, thanks for nothing," Smokescreen growled before heading to the casino with Hoist trailing him.

"Was it really necessary to insult him?" Hoist asked.

"When everybody's life is on the line and you're doing nothing, yes," Smokescreen told him, the two entering the bright, glitzy area. Right in front of them, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Skywarp, and Blurr were in various places in the room. The two of them went to the nearest one, Scavenger, looking through a garbage can.

"Hey, Scavenger, what's going on?" Smokescreen asked him, getting next to him.

"Sifting through the trash," he mutter depressingly, "as usual." The two Autobots glanced at each other before Hoist asked a question.

"Found anything?" he asked.

"Maybe… hold on," he reached in deep before pulling himself from the garbage, revealing a broken device of some sort. "Uh, what is this?"

"Let me see," Hoist said, grabbing it and looking at it. "It a recording device. Someone was using to record something."

"But, is this even relevant? You were digging really deep to get it," Smokescreen pointed out to them.

"Well, the only reason I digged very deep is that it looked very unnatural," Scavenger told him.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Smokescreen questioned, confused and kind of disgusted.

"Well, Monobear takes the garbage from the area and transport it at night when no one else is around. We haven't been here all day and it was full, which made no sense. You agree with me, right?" he asked desperately.

"That… makes a lot of sense," Smokescreen agreed, smiling in approval.

"Yes!" Scavenger shouted in glee.

"You can fix this, right?" he asked Hoist.

"Yeah, I just need some time, but I rather investigate everything else first before we get to it," Hoist told him, storing it. "Let's go see how everyone else is."

"Alright. Thanks for the help, Scavenger," Smokescreen thanked him. "Input this evidence."

"Alright and you're welcome," Scavenger said as the two walked off.

**Ammo Gained: Broken Recorder**

**Broken recorder found in the trash bin of the casino.**

"Blurr, what are you doing?" Smokescreen asked, watching him mess around with a slot machine.

"You don't see it?" Blurr questioned him. "You're the one that's here all the time blowing your money."

"Okay, first, I always win and two, I hate slots. Relies too much on luck," Smokescreen told him, insulted.

"Well, _sorry_ , for being so judgmental about you're gambling addiction-"

"Mock it and I'll skewer you're alcoholism," he shot back.

"It's not that bad," Blurr scoffed before getting to the point, "now compare this slot machine to the others and you'll see what's wrong." Smokescreen and Hoist glanced at each other before they started comparing the slots and noticing something wrong.

"Hey, the lever on this one is gone," Hoist noticed, looking at the right side where the lever would be.

"Yeah. I looked closely at it and it appears to have been removed with some tools rather than broken off," Blurr told them.

"So it wasn't a spur of the moment thing, but planned out," Hoist realized.

"Yeah. Best make note of it. I have no idea how this is related to the case, but someone had a purpose for this."

**Ammo Gained: Missing Lever**

**A lever at a slot machine is missing, having been completely removed by tools.**

"Why the person do this, I have no idea," Smokescreen muttered, scratching his head. "Best check on the others." The two walked off to Mixmaster and Skywarp, who were both examing the back of the room, trying to get in a door. "Hey, what are you two doing?"

"This… door…won't… budge!" Skywarp yelled as the two of them kept trying to break it down.

"Maybe it's not meant to be opened," Hoist recommended.

"No, because I was in it earlier. It's a backroom filled with safes," Mixmaster told him as he gave one last push, before giving up. "Okay, since we can't push it, you're going to have to go in by yourself Skywarp."

"You got it," Skywarp answer before warping off, leaving the three behind. With him gone, Mixmaster took a closer look and examine the door closely. "It appears that someone took the time to weld the door shut."

"Let me take a look," Hoist said, pushing past Smokescreen to look at the door with Mixmaster. "You're right, someone used a welder or something like it to close it from us."

"Best make note of it."

**Ammo Gained: Welded doors of the Casino Backroom**

**The doors to the backroom with safes are welded shut, unable to be opened.**

Before the two could come to anymore conclusions, Skywarp warped back. "Alright, I check the room out and there is something suspicious," he told them.

"What?"

"Well, there's quite a bit of dust in the room and the safes, so it makes no sense for one of the safes to be free of dust," Skywarp told them. "If we could find the combination for it, I could check it out."

"Well, that's going to be difficult," Smokescreen muttered. "How are we supposed to find a combo for a safe?"

"Question is, how did they get a combo for a safe in the first place?" Mixmaster asked him.

"Oh yeah, that too," Smokescreen murmured.

"Well, the safe is inputted with a key pad and needs five numbers," Skywarp told them. "Want me and Mixmaster to look around for any answers about that safe?"

"Do whatever you have to do to find the code. Someone is keeping us from the safe and we need to find out what's in it," Hoist ordered.

"Understood. Come on Skywarp, let's see if we can find any info on it," Mixmaster told the warper and the two walked off to find any info.

**Ammo Gained: Locked Safe**

**A suspicious safe that is locked behind the welded door.**

"So, need to search anything else in here?" Smokescreen asked.

"No. It's best to go check the medical bay," Hoist told them.

"Alright. You two!" he shouted to Scavenger and Blurr, who turned towards the duo. "Watch this area and make sure no one interferes with anything here!"

"Yeah, you got it," Blurr said with a thumbs-up and a nod from Scavenger. The two quickly departed from the room, passed a still reading Dead End, and enter the Medical Bay. There he could see Bumble watching Wildrider looking through a garbage bin and Drift looking around at the medical tools that could cut things open.

"Found anything?" Hoist asked the trio.

"Well, I'm letting Wildrider look around in the garbage. I'm getting some enjoyment out of this," Bumblebee told them smugly. "I doubt he's going to find-"

"Found something!" Wildrider shouted, standing up and showing off a cloth with energon-stained on it that looked like the shade of bodily energon.

"Woah, looks like someone bled into it," Hoist shouted.

"Or to clean up energon," Smokescreen pointed out.

"The killer has probably been in here then," Bumblebee muttered.

**Ammo Gained: Energon-Stained cloth**

**Cloth stained with energon. Found in the Med-Bay**

"Well, we saw Nightbeat in here, so we should ask him about it," Smokescreen recommended. "I doubt he did it, but since he was here, that makes him suspicious."

"Didn't he save all of our lives back in the first and third trial?" Bumblebee asked.

"That was then and this is now. It's a clean slate and we have to treat him with suspicion now," Smokescreen told him.

"Ugh… fine," Bumblebee muttered.

"Aw, so sad another one of you might be a killer?" Wildrider sent a barbed at him.

"Will you shut up?"

"Hey, Drift, have you found anything?" Hoist asked him, ignoring the other two.

Drift paused before replying, "Well, there's a scalpel missing," he told them.

"A scalpel?" Hoist asked?

"Yeah. Better look somewhere else for it, because it's not here."

**Ammo Gained: Missing Scalpel**

**A Scalpel in the Med-Bay is missing.**

Also, there is something that should be noted about the rooms," Drift added.

"What is that?" he asked.

"The Med-Bay is on the left door, the Repair Bay is in the middle, and the Casino is on the right. You may not know it, but each room is interconnected," he pointed out a door that said "REPAIR BAY" on it. "It's easy to move between the three rooms if you have too."

"Alright, good thing to take note of," Hoist agreed. "Thanks."

**Ammo Gained: Interconnecting Rooms**

**The Med-Bay, Repair Bay, and Casino are interconnected.**

"Alright, let's go check up on Nightbeat," Smokescreen told Hoist.

"Okay," Hoist agreed, leaving the squabbling duo and Drift behind. The two exited the room into the atrium to the three area where Dead End was crouched, examining something in his hand.

"Hey, Dead Beat, found anything?" Smokescreen insulted him.

"First off, _nice insult_. I've definitely haven't heard that before," he sarcastically replied. "Second, I found this small communications device." He showed off a small device in-between his fingers. "Looks like two people were communicating with each other."

"Where there's one device, there's another," Smokescreen muttered.

"Yes, so you should check around the other areas, probably in the mall since I'm guessing you haven't found the other one, as you haven't remarked on finding one in the rooms in this building," he noticed.

"Sharp," Smokescreen nodded.

"Here," he said, tossing it to Smokescreen, who caught it easily. "For cross-referencing."

"Thanks."

**Ammo Gained: Communication Device**

**Found in the atrium of the fourth building.**

"Alright, let's get going," the gambler told the repairer.

"Alright," he agreed, and the two quickly transverse the interconnecting hallway to the mall. The two entered it to see most of the group there sitting at the table at the plaza under the overwatch of Swindle. However, there was one noticeable exception.

"Hey, Swindle, where's Nightbeat?" Hoist asked.

"He said he had to go to the basement. Said something about going to the basement," Swindle told them.

"Alright, thanks," Hoist told them, the two walking off.

"Hey, wait," Swindle ordered them and the two pause and waited to see what he had to say. Swindle turned to Bludgeon and gave him an order. "Bludgeon, I'm going to join them. If anybody decides to leave the area, break their limbs."

"That sounds satisfying," Bludgeon agreed, standing up and taking overwatch, glaring at all of his fellow suspects. Swindle nodded and walked up to the two of them.

"Alright, let's head out," Swindle told the two, walking for the maintenance hall door.

"Can we trust Bludgeon?" Hoist asked, the three walking quickly.

"Yeah, I think so," Swindle said with a nod. "He may be brutal, but he's got his hand on straight. I'd rather trust him than any of the others."

"Even your own gestaltmates?" Smokescreen wondered.

"They were both out. That makes them suspicious," he told them.

"You don't have much faith in them?"

"They've been keeping me in the dark and that's never good. We value trust over anything else, and keeping secrets from each other is never good," Swindle told them, opening the door and entering the halls.

"Yeah," Hoist agreed.

"Also, I noticed in the evidence that Mirage had a knife in his right hand?" Swindle asked him.

"Correct? Relevant to you?" Hoist asked.

"Blast Off talked about Mirage before and according to him, Mirage is left-handed," he told them.

"He is?" Hoist asked. "I didn't noticed."

"Yeah. I figured that be relevant to you," Swindle told them.

**Ammo Gained: Mirage's Preferred Hand**

**Mirage is left-handed.**

As the two neared the basement, Swindle started shouting, "Hey Nightbeat, you there?"

"I'm at the entrance!" Nightbeat yelled to them. The three quicken to see Nightbeat at the bottom of the stairs, about to enter the room. "Yes?" he asked them

"We have questions for you," Hoist told him, the three walking down the stairs.

"Well, we can talk while I'm investigating the room," he told them, pushing the door wide open. As he opened the door, a large clang rang out and a large pop. Before anybody could react, an object quickly skewered Nightbeat through the center of his chest and through his spark. Nightbeat gasped as he grasped the object sticking out of his before collapsing backward, unmoving. The three had their mouths wide open and their optics brighten at the sight of the grisly scene. Suddenly, Hoist spoke really dully.

"That's… the lever," he pointed out what was sticking out of Nightbeat's chest. Before the others could respond, they heard a familiar sound.

* _DING DONG_ *

"A body has been discovered, and I'm happy at who it is! HAHAHAHAHA! You guys get an extended investigation time now," Monobear announced to everybody with glee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha! Didn't see that coming, did you?


	52. Chapter 4: Investigating the Trap

"What… the… fuck!" Smokescreen shouted, the announcement confirming that Nightbeat was _dead_. "Seriously, what the fuck just happened."

"He opened the door and that… lever?" Swindle turned to Hoist for confirmation, who gave a nod. "Right, that lever must've been arranged ahead of time to kill anybody who opens the door, although it must've required a lot of force. We'll have to investigate the area to see how they did it."

"W-we should tell everybody about this. Unlike Mirage, anyone could've set this up," Hoist told them.

"Yeah… except us. It takes three innocents to activate it and we did it together," the merchant pointed out.

"Yeah, that's right, just… shit. Who and how did they do this?" Smokescreen wondered.

"Let's go back to the others. They're probably freaking out," Hoist told them.

"Alright…." The three quickly turned around and quickly made their way back to the mall courtyard, where the ones they left behind were standing up and causing a fracas with each other, paranoia being more prevalent than before. To go along with that, the ones in the fourth building were back, wondering who was dead. Bludgeon, who was trying his best to keep everyone calm, glanced at them. Suddenly, he started yelling.

"SILENCE!" he shouted, causing everybody to quiet down. As they went quiet, Bludgeon turned to the three of them and asked, "Where's Nightbeat?"

"Dead," Swindle announced, causing them to start mumbling between each other. "You know what the worst thing about it is? Anyone could've done it as he was killed by a pre-made trap. No one can be declared innocent except for the three of us, as we triggered the announcement."

"Shit, that means that the only ones who are innocent for both murders is Smokescreen and Hoist," Blurr realized.

"Mirage's best friend and the gambler. Just perfect," Nautilator muttered. "I haven't even talked to these guys one-on-one."

"Well, how are we going to do this?" Perceptor asked. "We need to stay in groups no matter what to watch each other and find information."

"Well, I guess me and Knock Out should move on to Nightbeat," Ratchet murmured, with Knock Out shaking his head in agreement.

"Did you find out anything else with Mirage?" Hoist asked him nervously.

"Well, it was difficult, but we looked into Mirage memory banks considering energy. He started losing energy at around 1:30, so we're guessing that's when he was pushed against the behemoth's spike," Ratchet told him.

**Ammo Gained: Time of impalement**

**According to energy memory, Mirage was impaled at 1:30.**

"Okay, so we got that. Anything else?" Bumblebee asked.

"We didn't find anything else on him," Knock Out briskly replied. "Now, where is he?"

"The entrance to the basement," Smokescreen replied.

"Alright." The two medics quickly departed from the room and head out.

"We'll head back to our area we're looking after," Bumblebee ordered. With that, him, Wildrider, Drift, Blurr, and Scavenger headed back to the fourth building.

"Alright, so the rest of us will search around the other buildings? The one who planted the trap that killed had to at least walk around the mall," Nautilator recommended.

"It makes the most sense. Alright, let's look for a killer, but don't be by yourself," Perceptor announced, causing the group to break up and get in small groups to look around, leaving Hoist, Smokescreen, Swindle, Mixmaster, and Skywarp behind.

"Right, well, this is going to be difficult. We might have to look for two different killer and we're not having a good time finding clues." Smokescreen complained.

"Well, we made some progress on that safe," Mixmaster told them.

"Safe?" Swindle asked.

"Yeah, we found this safe in the backroom of a casino. The door is welded shut, so only I can get to it. Five number combination using 0-9," Skywarp informed him.

"Anyway, we tracked the damn associate of Monobear down and asked him about it. Apparently, one can get one independently, which he did. However he did leave a hint to the code in case he forget, but…," Mixmaster trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It makes no fragging sense," Skywarp told them.

"What is it?" Hoist asked.

"'Alphabetical digital root," Mixmaster replied.

**Ammo Gained: Hint to Safe password**

**A hint was present for the safe that said 'alphabetical digital root.'**

"…What?" Smokescreen bluntly asked, surprised. "What the hell does that mean?"

"We have no idea," the seeker replied. "It's plain gibberish to me. The clue is very esoteric."

"Holy shit, your vocabulary is getting better," he noticed.

"Hey, you learn a lot from… what the frag are you doing?" he went off track, looking at Swindle, who wasn't paying attention to them and seemed to be silently counting to himself.

"I'm counting, now shut up for a second," he told him, shutting the seeker up as he kept count quietly before he replied back. "Tried 92955."

"What the… what makes you think that?" Hoist asked, startled.

"Just trust me on this," Swindle told them.

"Alright… we'll give it a try," Mixmaster agreed. "We got nothing else."

"Eh, worth a try," Skywarp agreed. "Let's go." Mixmaster and Skywarp left the group, heading back to the casino.

"Okay, what to do now?" Hoist asked.

"Let's go see Knock Out and Ratchet and see if they could find anything on the body and examine the trap," Hoist recommended.

"Alright," Swindle agreed and the three of them quickly made their way there, arriving not long after to see Knock Out and Ratchet examining the corpse and a loud hissing noise from the basement.

"Hello, there. We would like to remind you that we just started this spontaneous autopsy and haven't figured anything out, so please try again later," Knock Out rebuked them. "The monobear file is up if you want to look at it."

**Ammo Gained: Monokuma File #4 (2)**

**Victim: Nightbeat**

**Location: Basement**

**Cause of Death: Impaled, causing near instantaneous death.**

**Time of Death: 2:20 A.M.**

"Well, that figures, but we're here to investigate the trap," Smokescreen told him.

"Well, have fun. I'll go ahead and tell you that he was killed by this lever impaling him," he informed them.

"Yeah, we know. We saw it happen," Swindle reminded him.

"Just to set the record straight."

**Ammo Updated: Missing Lever**

**A lever at a slot machine was removed cleanly with tools, but found later being rigged to kill whoever opened the basement door, being Nightbeat in this case.**

Unlike Knock Out, Ratchet was peering into the room, looking at the trap. "Clever," he muttered.

"You see something?" Hoist asked coming next to him and peering into the room.

"This string," he pointed out, connected to a door knob on the other side of the door, "was used to string up the student that was executed like a puppet. You can even still see splotches of energon on it." The trio examined the wire that was used to set up the trap and could see plenty of dried energon on it. A further look around the room allowed them to see the body that used to be the body, but the strings were taken off, leaving just a dismembered corpse on the ground.

"How pragmatic," Smokescreen murmured, slightly disgusted.

**Ammo Gained: Wire**

**Wire used to set up the trap was from one of the dead bodies.**

"Now, how did this wire worked?" Hoist wondered, following it to its end point, which was a tap that clearly didn't belong to the pipe due to its yellow coloring not matching the murky, gray pipe. "What is this?" he asked, looking at it. The wired was wrapped around the valve and he saw that the wire was directly over a button on the side of it, pushing it in. Hoist, his suspicion raised, moved the wired away from the button to release it, and the hissing stop. "So that's how they did it. They used the air in the pipes to expel the lever at a high velocity using this tap."

"Wow… exactly how do you get this to work?" Smokescreen asked.

"Anyone with a basic amount of engineering skill could theoretically do it," Hoist told them. "I could do this in my sleep with one arm tied behind my back."

"Bragging, aren't we?" Smokescreen chuckled.

"Well… I am that good," he repeated, looking at the tap. "Huh, there's even an adjuster for the amount of force. As well as," he moved the opening around a little bit, adjusting its direction, "being flexible."

"Well, this, along with the lever, is our murder weapon."

"Definitely."

**Ammo Gained: Tap in the Pipe**

**A tap connected to the wall that expels air from the pipe. Can control the flow and force of air and can be shifted to different directions.**

"Hey, you guys, look at this," Swindle told them, looking at the back of a door.

"What is it?" Smokescreen asked, the two of them walking over to Swindle to examine it.

"Look at these dents," he told them and indeed they did. At the back of the door, dents in a variety of sizes littered the back of the door.

"Huh, looked like someone vented their frustration out on this thing. Don't blame them," Smokescreen remarked. "I would probably be unloading my frustration on anything nearby."

"Yeah… but best take note of it all the same," Swindle advised.

**Ammo Gained: Dents in the door.**

**Dents in a variety of sizes were on the basement door, room-side.**

"Right, you medics found anything?" Smokescreen asked the duo who were inspecting Nightbeat's body.

"Well, considering that the killer did it in a way that isolated himself from dealing the killing blow, not really. But, he did have a note in his subspace. Here, have a look," Ratchet told them, standing up and giving it to them. Hoist grabbed it and the trio looked at what the note said.

_Onslaught Insane?_

_Onslaught has been talking to himself when he thinks he thinks he far enough away that no one will hear him, always talking about plans. My audio receptors are much better than the average person, so it's useless. He's been doing this since we got done with the mall today. I think that the loss of Vortex and Brawl is finally getting to him and keeps having conversation with them to cope with their death. That, or he somehow communicating with someone to coop a murder. I like to be optimistic for once and say he's just going insane (how sad that is the better option)._

_-Nightbeat-_

"What the… I didn't know he was suffering this much," Swindle muttered sadly.

"We should talk to him, see if he's alright," Hoist told them.

"And make sure he didn't do anything rash," Smokescreen reminded him. "He has no alibi and this note makes him more suspicious than normal."

"He wouldn't do it… not after what happen to Brawl and Vortex," Swindle rebuked him.

"So you say… so you say."

**Ammo Gained: Nightbeat's Note**

_**Onslaught Insane?** _

_**Onslaught has been talking to himself when he thinks he thinks he far enough away that no one will hear him, always talking about plans. My audio receptors are much better than the average person, so it's useless. He's been doing this since we got done with the mall today. I think that the loss of Vortex and Brawl is finally getting to him and keeps having conversation with them to cope with their death. That, or he somehow communicating with someone to coop a murder. I like to be optimistic for once and say he's just going insane (how sad that is the better option).** _

_**-Nightbeat-** _

"Right, if that's all you got for now, we're going to head back up," Smokescreen told the medics.

"We'll inform you if we find anything else," Knock Out told them and the three head back up and walked through the maintenance hall to the mall. From the fourth building's direction, Skywarp and Mixmaster walked toward them, something in hand.

"I have no idea how you knew, but the code was correct," Skywarp told them, showing off what was in his hand… which was a very familiar object.

"Are you serious?" Smokescreen questioned, walking over to him and grabbing it out of his hand and looking at it. He pulled something out of subspace and compared the two objects. "Yeah, this is the other communications device," Smokescreen told them.

"So, that was in the safe?" Hoist asked Skywarp.

"Yeah," Skywarp confirmed.

**Ammo Gained: Communications Device (2)**

**A second communications device found in the safe.**

"That and this," he handed to him an odd spherical device. "No idea what this is, but Mixmaster knows."

"It's a spark detector," he said, grabbing it and pressing a button, showing a 3-D holographic area of the building. They could see orbs at different areas around the mall, paired up. "It detects pulsing sparks in the area. Someone probably used it to detect when someone entered the area."

"So the person talked with someone with the comm device and tracked any person entering a building," Smokescreen murmured.

"Exactly."

**Ammo Gained: Spark Detector**

**Found in the safe. Used to detect people entering a building.**

"So, they used this to set up a crime, but when did they used this?"

"And what murder did they used it for?"

"Excuse me," they turned to see Dead End looking over them, his datapad that he was still reading in hand, "may I ask what type of trap it was that killed Nightbeat?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Hoist agreed and explained to him what it was.

"Well now, that's very telling," Dead End muttered.

"How so?"

"This datapad," he showed it off, "is from the repair bay in a drawer. I though it was pointless, but it was bookmarked at a specific place for easy reference." He gave the datapad to Hoist who looked at it.

"This is… the trap that killed Nightbeat," Hoist realized.

"It's called 'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies.' It's meant to teach people how to make objects and to make traps for animals to hunt and home defense. It guarantees that anybody, even the complete dummies, could build these things," he told him.

"And you found this in the repair bay?" Hoist confirmed.

"Yes."

"So the trapper worked on it in the repair bay, the same place that Mirage was skewered," Smokescreen pondered. "If these aren't connected somehow, I'd lose all my money."

**Ammo Gained: 'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad**

**Datapad found in the repair bay that teaches people how to make traps. The trap that killed Nightbeat was bookmarked.**

"Okay, me ad Skywarp will go check out the library," Mixmaster told them.

"I'll come along," Dead End told them. "I've got nothing better to do." With that, the three of them left the group to the library, leaving the other three behind.

"Great, so what to do now?" Swindle muttered.

"We got to find Onslaught and talk to him," Smokescreen said.

"Also, there's still the matter of the missing scalpel," Hoist reminded them. "That's still missing."

"Oh, yeah, I've forgotten about that," Smokescreen agreed.

"Missing scalpel? How is that relevant?" Swindle asked them. "Mirage was pushed against the Behemoth jagged piece and Nightbeat was skewered by a lever."

"We're not sure, but someone stole it for some reason. Obviously, it's not for a good reason," Hoist told him.

"Well, let's go find Onslaught," Swindle told them. "I want to know about that note Nightbeat wrote."

"Right," Smokescreen agreed and the two began looking around until they met Onslaught on the third floor with Blast Off, who were emerging from a store.

"Onslaught, what's wrong with you!" Swindle shouted, marching over to his leader.

"Swindle, what did I do wrong? I know me being out this late is not a good sign, but-"

"Nightbeat had been keeping notes about you, talking about how you keep talking to yourself. That's why I'm here. You're not acting very sane. Did me and Blast Off being away from you cause your mind to rust up?" Swindle badgered him. Onslaught looked confused before answering.

"I wasn't talking to myself," he immediately defended himself. "I would tell you, but that would be bad for us."

"Oh, yeah, you don't think you're talking to yourself. I forgot," Swindle scoffed.

"Calm down, Swindle," Blast Off stepped in, mediating between the two. "Now is not the time to fight. There are two murders that we need to solve and fighting won't get us anywhere."

"Blast Off, I don't think you remember, but you and Onslaught are prime suspect #1 and #2," he reminded him. "You two were the ones out tonight with the two dead people!"

"Swindle, it's nothing. We didn't plot their deaths," he told him.

"After what happen earlier, I need more than just your word. I need evidence," Swindle told them, causing the two to flinch. Vortex and Brawl would always remain fresh wounds.

"There is no need to suspect us," Blast Off told them. "Trust us."

"Hmph," Swindle scoffed. "I guess we'll find out later." He walked away from them and rejoined the two and walked off with them.

"Things are obviously not going well between you three," Smokescreen murmured.

" _Don't_ remind me," he growled.

"Uh, there's Jazz and Beachcomber! Quick, let's go talk to them," Hoist mentioned, pointing out Beachcomber and Jazz emerging from the upgrades store. The two made their way over to the two and greeted each other.

"Alright, any info?" he asked them.

"Well, I can tell you what happen during the announcement when Nightbeat told us of the Mirage's death. We left the room with Beachcomber falling a little behind due to the exertion being up extra late and not getting enough sleep," Jazz began.

"Yeah, I was really tired. Jazz is used to this stuff and I'm an insomniac. I followed along after I got out. I was slow, but I was the one to notice the barricade and got rid of it, allowing the others in the purple room to escape."

"That's about it," Jazz finished.

"Alright, thanks for that," Hoist thanked them.

"You're welcome."

**Ammo Gained: Jazz and Beachcomber's Testimony**

**Jazz lead the red group out while Beachcomber fell behind and release the purple team from their room.**

"Well, that wasn't very useful," Smokescreen muttered at a distant.

"Tell me about it," Swindle agreed.

"Yeah, and- wait, is Bludgeon coming over here?" Smokescreen asked, cautious.

"Uh. Yeah. Him and the 'lucky' one," Swindle noticed the two walking over with something in Bludgeon's hand.

"We found this in our room's bathroom," he told them showing off a scalpel with energon covering the blade.

"Red room?" Hoist asked for certainty.

"Yes, in the trash can. If we went to trial without finding this, it would've been gotten rid of."

"How did that get there?" Hoist wondered.

"We don't know!" Nautilator told them "We went back to the room to relax and clear our head before the trial starts and I went to the bathroom to clean the cracks in my armor when I noticed the scalpel there."

"Great, that's just wonderful," Smokescreen complained, clutching his head. "How the frag did that get there and who used it!"

**Ammo Updated: Energon-Stained Scalpel**

**Found in red room's trashcan in the bathroom.**

"Okay, we got that, now what?" Hoist wondered.

"Hey!" the group looked down to the first floor where Perceptor was looking down at them. "We've made a discovery in the storage room. Get down here." Perceptor disappeared after giving his order. The five looked at each other.

"Well, want to go see what they saw together?" Hoist offered the duo.

"Fine with me," Bludgeon agreed with a nod from his partner. The five of them went down the stairs to the storage hall on the ground floor. The five entered it and found a side room where Perceptor was with Rewind and Hound. Inside was something very curious. A blue tarp laid out with a combat knife on top of it.

"That's… ominous," Smokescreen murmured.

"It looks like someone was planning to murder someone in here and use the tarp to move him somewhere else," Perceptor told them.

"So… how close were we to having third person dead?" Rewind asked.

"It looked like we barely avoided it," Hound muttered. "I can't believe the amount of people willing to kill right now."

"Still, it looks like this is unrelated," Swindle muttered.

"Best take note of it all the same," Perceptor told them.

"Fine," Swindle muttered.

**Ammo Gained: Tarp and Knife**

**Found in the storage room intended to be used to kill and transport a body somewhere.**

*Ding Dong*

"Alright, teachers! The investigation is over and it's time for you to head on over to the cargo elevator so we can get this trial on the way!"

"Already! Dammit!" Hoist cursed. "You guys go on ahead. I'll get there as soon as I can," Hoist told them before quickly running out of the room to their bewildered stare. He made his way quickly out of the mall to the repair bay. He entered it and rushed on over to a tool box. He opened it up to see a more than enough tools to fix the recorder he found. Confident with his tools, he closed it and took one last look around the room. They searched everywhere in the room and found nothing. Everywhere…

…

Except for the behemoth itself. Hoist put his tools down and quickly climbed up and looked around the machine. Nothing on the chair so he looked in the glove box. In it, he found exactly what he was looking for. He pulled out a datapad and looked at it.

_My Gift to Hoist_

_I worked very hard at this and I hope you appreciate it. I learned this from a datapad and I built it for you. I hope you like this and hope we can continue our friendship with this and that we can build many things together._

_-Mirage-_

Hoist could a low groan and pressed the object against his chest, the feeling of despair feeling him. He couldn't help it. He had always been lonely and he had always been on the periphery, trying to at least talk to people, even if it wasn't as friends. Mirage was the first person he spent a lot of his time with and he was killed by someone just as they decided to be friends.

Whoever did this was going to suffer.

He reached inside the glove box and pulled out a cradle of some sort with metal balls hanging from wires. Hoist knew enough that this was a Newton's Cradle on earth. He grabbed one of the ball, pulled it back, and released. The ball hit the closest and the one at the end went up and came back down to knock the previous one up. Hoist couldn't help but smile. Mirage built it correctly by himself. He would've been a damn good builder if he could've stayed alive longer.

"Hoist! Where the hell are you! We got a trial to start!" Monobear shouted through the intercoms. Hoist jumped, startled, before grabbing the cradle, the datapad, and the toolbox. He quickly inputted into his electroID what he found.

**Ammo Gained: Mirage's Note**

_**My Gift to Hoist** _

_**I worked very hard at this and I hope you appreciate it. I learned this from a datapad and I built it for you. I hope you like this and hope we can continue our friendship with this and that we can build many things together.** _

_**-Mirage-** _

**Ammo Gained: Hoist's Present**

**Mirage built a Newton's Cradle for Hoist.**

Hoist arrived at the cargo elevator, where everybody was waiting for him to arrive. "Sorry," he told them, coming on over to them.

"Is that Mirage's gift?" Smokescreen asked, coming over to him.

"Yeah, it is."

"Alright, just one more thing I want you to take note of that I just added. I added what we did after we left the room."

"Okay."

**Ammo Gained: Smokescreen and Hoist's Testimony**

**Exited room at two to head to the Repair Bat, where they met Onslaught and Blast Off on the first floor of the mall and Nightbeat emerging from the Med-Bay.**

"Well, guess it's time to quit holding it off and get this thing going. It's time to sacrifice someone," Bludgeon told the group.

"Guess so," Jazz muttered sadly. "Wish it didn't have to be this way."

Blurr pressed the button and the elevator opened up for everyone in. The group slowly entered it and Blurr pressed the button to take them down. The roaring noise of the engine going down roared throughout the elevator. The 22 of them noted darkly that there was quite a bit more room in the elevator compared to how it was with 29. They hated people dying, but at least the elevator was a little more comfortable.

The elevator stop dead and the 22 of them exited the elevator to reach their usual pedestal. The empty ones were filled with their usual pictures plus three new ones. Mirage and Nightbeat were replaced with headshots of them crossed out with a blue X. Chromedome's spot also had a headshot, but his X were a pair of mnemosuregeon needles. The walls of the trial area was a celestial blue with red, orange, and yellow trimmings, reflecting the two dead teachers colors.

"Well, you guys have been busy," Monobear happily noted from his throne. "A double murder always pleases me and I trust you know the rules. Find the killer or killers in this case, and only they will be executed. Guess wrong on either of them, and you will be executed. Now, let the trial begin!"


	53. Chapter 4: Trial PT 1

**Have you got the facts straight?**

  **Monobear File #3**

Victim: Mirage

Location: Repair Bay

Cause of Death: Pushed against a spike, leading him to bleed out.

Time of Death: 2:00 A.M.

Additional Notes: Time of death is when he died, not when he was pushed against the spike. Victim had no traces of anything in his system.

**2\. Red Group's Lack of Alibi**

After 1:20, both Nightbeat and Onslaught were not in the room, giving no one a definitive alibi after 1:20.

**3.** **Onslaught and Blast Off's Secret Rendezvous**

The two met last night around the time of the murder for unknown reasons.

**4.** **State of Repair Bay**

Aside from the body and the spike, nothing in the room looked like a struggle happen, having look like it's been cleaned up.

**5.** **Broken Recorder**

Broken recorder found in the trash bin of the Casino.

**6.** **Missing Lever**

A lever at a slot machine was removed cleanly with tools, but found later being rigged to kill whoever opened the basement door, being Nightbeat in this case.

**7\. Welded doors of the Casino Backroom**

The doors to the backroom with safes are welded shut, unable to be opened.

**8\. Locked Safe**

A suspicious safe that is locked behind the welded door.

**9.** **Energon-Stained cloth**

Cloth stained with energon. Found in the Med-Bay

**10.** **Energon-Stained Scalpel**

A Scalpel in the Med-Bay is missing.

Found in red room's trashcan in the bathroom, with some energon on it.

**11.** **Interconnecting Rooms**

The Med-Bay, Repair Bay, and Casino are interconnected.

**12.** **Communication Device**

Found in the atrium of the fourth building.

**13.** **Mirage's Preferred Hand**

Mirage is left-handed.

**14.** **Time of impalement**

According to energy memory, Mirage was impaled at 1:30.

**15.** **Hint to Safe password**

A hint was present for the safe that said 'alphabetical digital root.'

**16.** **Monokuma File #4 (2)**

Victim: Nightbeat

Location: Basement

Cause of Death: Impaled, causing near instantaneous death.

Time of Death: 2:20 A.M.

**17.** **Wire**

Used to set up the trap was from one of the dead bodies.

**18.** **Tap in the Pipe**

A tap connected to the wall that expels air from the pipe. Can control the flow and force of air and can be shifted to different directions.

**19.** **Dents in the door.**

Dents in a variety of sizes were on the basement door, room-side.

**20.** **Nightbeat's Note**

_Onslaught Insane?_

_Onslaught has been talking to himself when he thinks he thinks he far enough away that no one will hear him, always talking about plans. My audio receptors are much better than the average person, so it's useless. He's been doing this since we got done with the mall today. I think that the loss of Vortex and Brawl is finally getting to him and keeps having conversation with them to cope with their death. That, or he somehow communicating with someone to coop a murder. I like to be optimistic for once and say he's just going insane (how sad that is the better option)._

_-Nightbeat-_

**21.** **Communications Device (2)**

A second communications device found in the safe.

**22.** **Spark Detector**

Found in the safe. Used to detect people entering a building.

**23.** **'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad**

Datapad found in the repair bay that teaches people how to make objects and traps. The trap that killed Nightbeat was bookmarked.

**24.** **Jazz and Beachcomber's Testimony**

Jazz lead the red group out while Beachcomber fell behind and release the purple team from their room.

**25.** **Tarp and Knife**

Found in the storage room intended to be used. To transport a body somewhere.

**26.** **Mirage's Note**

_My Gift to Hoist_

_I worked very hard at this and I hope you appreciate it. I learned this from a datapad and I built it for you. I hope you like this and hope we can continue our friendship with this and that we can build many things together._

_-Mirage-_

**27.** **Hoist's Present**

Mirage built a Newton's Cradle for Hoist.

**28.** **Smokescreen and Hoist's Testimony**

Exited room at two to head to the Repair Bat, where they met Onslaught and Blast Off on the first floor of the mall and Nightbeat emerging from the Med-Bay.

* * *

_The trial is now in session!_

* * *

"Well, this is going to be a little more difficult with Nightbeat gone," Jazz announced, "but I'm sure we can find out which of us killed him and Mirage."

"You're optimism is sickening, but unsurprising," Dead End muttered with a roll of his optics.

"Ignoring the ever-present cynic, we got to find out how the kill happen and who did- what the fuck are you doing Hoist?" Blurr questioned the repairer, who was ignoring the procedures to get some tools out.

"I've got a recorder that was broken and hidden in the trash. I didn't fix it to work on the investigation," he told them, getting his tools out and placing it on the podium next to the recorder and got to work. "Ignore me, just figure this out. Especially you, Smokescreen." Smokescreen glanced over to his left at him and gave a nod. He and Hoist knew the most about this murder, so it was best that he would be the one to call people out on their bullshit while he was busy with the repairs of the recorder.

"Alright, so what should we start with?" Smokescreen asked the group.

"Well, I wasn't there, so could we talk about Nightbeat's death," Beachcomber asked. "We've all saw Mirage's body, but not many people saw his."

"Yeah, neither did I," Bumblebee agreed. "Let's start on that."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Tap in the Pipe, Wire, Monobear File #4 (2), Lever, Spark Detector

BUMBLEBEE: So, Nightbeat died from a trap.

BUMBLEBEE: How did it worked?

SWINDLE: Well, I was there, so I can tell you...

SWINDLE: …it activated when Nightbeat **opened the door to the basement…**

SWINDLE: and he was impaled.

BLUDGEON: He probably **bought everything** from the stores and other buildings.

BLUDGEON: After he got the supplies, the killer set it up…

BLUDGEON: …at an **unknown time** to kill whomever opened the door.

RATCHET: His death was **instantaneous or close to it…**

RATCHET: …as he was impaled straight to his spark.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: Hold up!

Ammo Used: Wire

* * *

"Bludgeon, uh, I almost don't want to say it because you are an intimidating force, but there was something wrong you said," Smokescreen muttered nervously.

"I got something wrong? Do explain," Bludgeon growled at him.

"Well, the wire that was used to set it up wasn't from anywhere except the basement," he explained.

"But, you can buy wire from the stores. I know this," he retort.

"Yes, but there was something it shouldn't otherwise have on it: energon stains," Smokescreen told him.

"Really now?" Bludgeon said, thinking it over. "Could it had come from Nightbeat when he was impaled?"

"No. The stains on it were too old and being impaled like he was wouldn't have much splatter," Ratchet interfered, helping Smokescreen.

"Hmm… well, you appear to be in the right," Bludgeon agreed, backing off. "The wire had to come from that room."

"Great, where do we go for now?" Mixmaster asked. "Is there anything else that needs to be cleared up?"

"Well, we got the weapon, which is a lever from a slot machine," Knock Out told everyone. "Other than that, I don't know anything else."

"Well, there is one thing that is confusing me," Blurr told them.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Wire, Monobear file (2), Missing Lever, Tap in the Valve, Dents in the Door

BLURR: We've talked about the trapped itself…

BLURR: …but how exactly was it used.

BLURR: Was it _**swung**_ at him.

SWINDLE: Well, it was-

WILDRIDER: It was all done with a _**press of a button!**_

WILDRIDER: They remotely activated it.

DRIFT: Will someone shut this moron up?

DRIFT: If the killer did that, then that would mean…

DRIFT: …the killer had to be able to see when someone opened it.

SWINDLE: Guys, it's-

REWIND: Could it be that the wire…

REWIND: … _ **pulled the lever**_ towards Nightbeat!

KNOCK OUT: Not enough force to impale him.

KNOCK OUT: Remember, the lever **wasn't sharpened.**

KNOCK OUT: It had to be launch with great force.

SWINDLE: Why should I even bother…?

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: You got a point!

Ammo used: Tap in the Valve

* * *

"Wildrider, I know you don't hear this often, but you're right. The lever was used to impale Nightbeat by the press of a button," Smokescreen complimented him.

"Yeah, baby!" Wildrider shouted.

"Wait, you're seriously saying someone pressed a button to send the lever?" Drift asked, shocked.

"Well, no. The wire was wrapped around a tap that activates whenever someone pushes a button."

"That's what I was trying to say, but nobody would shut up!" Swindle shouted, causing everybody to look at him strangely. Before anybody could remarked, he began to explain. "The wires was wrapped over the tap loosely overtop the button. When the door was opened, it tighten the wire, causing it to push the button in and send the lever towards him. The lever was placed in the valve, where the air from the pipes would send it at great force towards whomever opened the door, in this case, Nightbeat." He finished his explanation, causing most people to be in agreement.

**THERE'S A FLAW!**

Most people. Swindle turned to the one that dared to defy his explanation, Knock Out, which surprised him. "Why are you against it?" Swindle questioned.

"It's one simple thing really," he replied. "How did he know that the pipe would give him the necessary force to deliver the blow?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, the lever was unsharpened, which meant that they had to deliver it with more force than necessary. How could they know that the pipe would deliver the necessary force? For all he knew, it could've just bounce off him harmlessly," Knock Out explained to him, causing Swindle to flinch at that. He wasn't expecting anyone to challenge him. "Furthermore, how did he know that it would go exactly where he want it to go? Objects can shift their distance in mid-air. He had to know exactly where to go."

"Uh, well, everything else fits. Why does that change anything?" Swindle tried to brushed it under the rug.

"One thing wrong and a whole idea can be reduced to rubble," Knock Out informed him, getting ready to engage in a verbal fight with him. "Now if you want this theory of yours to still be considered, offer a suitable explanation against me, _now_."

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

(Swindle vs. Knock Out)

Swords Available: Dents in the Door, Wire, Nightbeat's Note, Tap in the Valve

KNOCK OUT: You say that the killer…

KNOCK OUT: …rigged the trap up…

KNOCK OUT: and prayed that it would just work?

KNOCK OUT: That's impossible!

KNOCK OUT: They would have to be an idiot to do that.

KNOCK OUT: Anyone would test it.

…

Development!

…

SWINDLE: You're right, he had to test it…

SWINDLE: …which means that you're ignoring it.

KNOCK OUT: Ignoring it?

KNOCK OUT: You haven't show me any proof!

KNOCK OUT: You are under delusions.

KNOCK OUT: Makes sense, considering you're frame of mind...

KNOCK OUT: …and you're rapidly depleting lucidity.

…

Development

…

SWINDLE: That's unnecessary and off-track.

SWINDLE: Insulting me gets us to fight with each other.

SWINDLE: Now, do you have a valid complaint?

KNOCK OUT: **You're the one who hasn't proven you're claims!**

KNOCK OUT: I ask for one simple thing: evidence.

KNOCK OUT: Let's admit it!

KNOCK OUT: **We didn't miss any evidence.**

KNOCK OUT: **We didn't mistake anything for it.**

KNOCK OUT: You've failed to convince me.

KNOCK OUT: That means, your bluff failed.

* * *

SWINDLE: I gotcha!

Ammo Used: Dents in the Wall

* * *

"Actually, we did mistake something for it," Swindle realized.

"Huh, what?" Knock Out pestered.

"The dents in the door!"

"The dents… in the door? I thought we agreed that someone did it to relieve stressed," Knock Out growled.

"Yes, but, wouldn't it make sense that the person who set the trap to use that door for target practice. They place the tap on the pipe and continuous fire it until they get the results that they're looking for."

"…That makes sense," Knock Out acknowledged reluctantly

"Is there any flaw with what I said?" Swindle asked everyone. No one spoke up. "I thought so."

"Well… I don't like losing, but it brings us closer to the truth," the medic told him. "Besides, a popped ego is good every once in a while."

"Well, we made progress, but does this actually have anything to help us find the perpetrator?" Perceptor asked the group.

"I'm not sure," Nautilator murmured. "The trap was probably placed way ahead of time."

"Ugh… let's talk it out. I'm pretty sure someone will call someone on their bullshit or whatever," Hound told the group.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Monobear File #4, Monobear File #4 (2), Onslaught and Blast Off's secret Rendezvous, Locked Safe, Energon-Stained Scalpel

SKYWARP: Alright, so we know how the trap works.

SKYWARP: It's just a matter of who did it.

BLAST OFF: Could it be _**Hoist**_?

SWINDLE: Can't. He activated the announcement with me and Smokescreen.

ONSLAUGHT: Anybody noticed anything the nights before?

BEACHCOMBER: Our group hasn't done anything…

BEACHCOMBER: … **besides Nightbeat and Onslaught leaving.**

MIXMASTER: **Neither has my group.**

PERCEPTOR: Let's be honest, only **the ones out have done anything suspicious**.

PERCEPTOR: That means Onslaught and Blast Off

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: That's wrong!

Ammo used: Energon-Stained Scalpel

* * *

"Beachcomber, there was something else suspicious about your group besides Onslaught and Nightbeat leaving," Smokescreen told him. "We found a scalpel in red room, with energon on it."

"Huh, but how does that relate to Nightbeat?" Beachcomber questioned him.

"I don't know, but that scalpel is suspicious," he told him.

"Agreed," Bludgeon assented. "That is too suspicious just to lightly ignored."

"But do we have a way to figure out when it was placed there?" Jazz asked.

"A time and a place to put it there," Smokescreen murmured. If they were to figure out who did it, they had to establish a timeline when the person who used it dispose of it in the trash. With that, he may have to apply some logic to it.

* * *

_Logic Dive!_

Question #1: Who has been confirmed to use the bathroom?

a. Onslaught

b. Nightbeat.

c. Beachcomber

d. Jazz

…

**b. Nightbeat**

…

Question #2: Did he noticed the Scapel?

a. Yes

b. No

…

**b. No**

…

Question #3: Why didn't he noticed it?

a. He placed it.

b. He was busy with something.

c. It wasn't there.

…

**c. It wasn't there**

…

SMOKESCREEN: That's it!

* * *

"I'm pretty sure I know a when it had to be there," Smokescreen told everyone. "It had to be done after Nightbeat was in the bathroom during his shift with Onslaught."

"Hey, you're right! Remember what he said?" Jazz pointed out.

_"Well… obviously we need to look around the area," Nightbeat said, standing next to Onslaught. "That and start establishing people's alibies, such as where were you when I went to the bathroom momentarily to wash up?" he said, glaring at Onslaught next to him._

_"Well, I wanted to go out for a little bit," Onslaught told him._

_"Why is that?" he asked, glaring at him._

_"It has nothing to do with Mirage's murder," Onslaught told him, turning away from him._

_"Uh, exactly what are you two going on about?" Hoist questioned the two of them._

_"At around 1:15, Onslaught spilled some energon on me. When I got out of there at 1:20, he was gone," Nightbeat said, glaring at him. "I left the room to go fine him."_

"When Nightbeat entered, he would've noticed the scalpel, so it had to be placed after 1:20, when he left the area," Jazz realized.

"Yes, and that lets us know exactly who put the scalpel there," Smokescreen announced, causing a few startled looks. "That person can only be…."

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl  
_ ~~

~~_Mirage_ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_Nightbeat_ ~~

~~_Soundwave_ ~~

 

 

 


	54. Chapter 4: Trial PT 2

  _Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl_ ~~

~~_Mirage_ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

Onslaught

**Beachcomber**

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_Nightbeat_ ~~

~~_Soundwave_ ~~

* * *

"Beachcomber, it was you, wasn't it?" Smokescreen accused the geologist.

"Uh, well…," Beachcomber hesitated.

"The thing that proves it was you is…"

* * *

Monobear File #3

Red Group's Lack of Alibi

Onslaught and Blast Off's Secret Rendezvous

State of Repair Bay

Broken Recorder

Missing Lever

Welded doors of the Casino Backroom

Locked Safe

Energon-Stained cloth

Energon-Stained Scalpel

Interconnecting Rooms

Communication Device

Mirage's Preferred Hand

Time of impalement

Hint to Safe password

Monobear File #4 (2)

Wire

Tap in the Pipe

Dents in the door.

Nightbeat's Note

Communications Device (2)

Spark Detector

'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad

**Jazz and Beachcomber's Testimony**

Tarp and Knife

Mirage's Note

Hoist's Present

Smokescreen and Hoist's Testimony

* * *

"…your own words. You admitted that you were the last one out. You used the excuse of a lack of recharge to stay behind and throw the scalpel in the trash and then release everybody from yellow room, correct?" Smokescreen explained to him, waiting to tear apart his arguments.

"Oh man, I better go ahead and explain things before you get things all wrong," Beachcomber muttered, shocking Smokescreen. People don't give up this easily! "Alright, look, it doesn't have anything to do with Nightbeat or Mirage's death. I was just… I was... dammit, it's hard to explain."

"Let me guess… cutting yourself?" Dead End guessed, causing Beachcomber to give a deep intake of breath before replying.

"Yeah…."

"What the fuck… you really need a therapist!" Blurr shouted.

"Well, I would like one, but in case you forget, we're stuck in this hellhole!"

"Well, can you just not do it?"

"You are an idiot," Dead End interjected.

"Eh, I'm getting called an idiot by the guy who most definitely needs a therapists and a ton of anti-depressants! You're so-"

"Shut up. Insulting me doesn't prove you're right. Now, does this have anything to do with Nightbeat and Mirage's death?" Dead End questioned the room. The room stayed quiet. "Exactly. You can talk to Beachcomber about this later. Now, we have to find a killer."

"Thanks, man," Beachcomber thanked him.

"No problem."

"Well, Dead End is right, the scalpel does not have anything to do with the murder, despite the appearance of it," Onslaught stated. 

"Right," Perceptor muttered, "since we can't reach a conclusion on Nightbeat's killer, let's go at it from a different angle."

"Mirage's death, right?" Onslaught questioned.

"No. I'm talking about you and Blast Off," he clarified, causing Onslaught to go on the defensive.

"I was afraid we get to this," he muttered, staring him down. "I'll go ahead and admit, me and Blast Off were out tonight, but we had nothing to do with it."

"We need more than your words," Perceptor growled.

"Whoa, calm down now," Jazz interfered. "Let's be careful here. We don't want to falsely accuse anybody."

"For some reason, I doubt I'm wrong," he coolly replied.

"Either way, I want to confirm something before we get ahead of ourselves. Have we got every bit of evidence?" Jazz questioned the room. Everybody kept quiet, but Smokescreen noticed Knock Out and Ratchet glancing at each other. The two stared at each other before Ratchet addressed the group.

"Well, me and Knock Out took a couple of pictures of Nightbeat's corpse before and after we removed the lever with the electroID. If it helps people get a feel of the murder, we can show you," Ratchet informed everybody.

"Sure, that would be great," Jazz agreed.

"Alright, uploading it to evidence," Ratchet agreed, getting his electroID out to do it. Smokescreen got his out and looked at what uploaded. The first was a picture of Nightbeat laying down on the ground with the lever sticking out of his chest. One of his hands was grasping the lever while the other was to the side. A small bit of energon was dripping down the side of his mouth and covering the wound and lever. A second picture showed off how he looked without the lever, giving people a good inside his wound, where both wet and dried energon was covering it.

**Ammo Gained: Pictures of Nightbeat's corpse.**

**Picture of Nightbeat's corpse taken by Ratchet and Knock Out. One shows one with the lever embedded and one without it.**

"Well, thanks for that," Skywarp muttered sarcastically. "Didn't really help anyone, except those who enjoy snuff." He glanced over at Rewind with that comment, who did his best to ignore that dig.

"Well, what should we concentrate on now?" Rewind asked the group, getting the group back on topic. "Mirage's death or Onslaught and Blast Off's alibi?"

"I say their alibi. We need to figure exactly what they were doing," Perceptor continued to push on Onslaught and Blast Off.

"I agree. We need to start pushing on them, hard," Blurr agreed.

"Considering you're track record, I'm not very frighten," Blast Off scoffed. "You're the one who kept pushing on Swindle when he was innocent."

"Guah, hey! That's was just a onetime thing! I'm sure at least one of you is a killer!" Blurr countered.

"Well, if you insist, let's discuss and talk about how wrong you are," Blast Off told him.

"Let's go!" 

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Monobear File #4, Onslaught and Blast Off's Secret Rendezvous, Broken Recorder, Hint to Safe Password, Missing Lever, Locked Safe

BLAST OFF: Let me go ahead and make this clear…

BLAST OFF: … **neither me nor Onslaught were involved in either murder**.

BLURR: There has to be something you're involved in.

BLURR: Why else were you out?

ONSLAUGHT: And you're delusional.

ONSLAUGHT: What leads to us being suspicious?

ONSLAUGHT: _**Did we leave any evidence behind that is clearly ours?**_

BLAST OFF: _**Did somebody leave evidence behind to frame us?**_

ONSLAUGHT: _**Is there some kind of code? **_

BLURR: …

PERCEPTOR: …

BLAST OFF: Exactly. You have nothing.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: Actually, I do.

Ammo Used: Hint to Safe Password

* * *

"Onslaught, thanks for reminding me of something," Smokescreen sarcastically said to him.

"Huh. What?" Onslaught questioned, startled.

"There's this safe that's very hard to get to. Breaking the code is pretty impossible with the time we had. Yet, with a certain hint, Swindle was able to solve it easily," he told him, causing Onslaught to flinch and glare at his sub-ordinate.

"Swindle, what does he mean?" Onslaught questioned him.

"Alphabetical digital root," Swindle said simply. "It was one of the completely pointless things you taught us in case we needed a code."

"Wait, hold on," Wildrider halt the procedure, rubbing his head in pain. "What the heck is a digital root?"

"Digital root is basically the process of turning letters to numbers. Once you do that, you add the numbers up to get another number. If that number isn't a single digit, try again and again until you get one," Swindle informed him. "I had a feeling that code was related to us and since the hint said alphabetical, I knew he was talking about our name's digital root in alphabetical order."

"I get it," Perceptor muttered, thinking it through. "Let's start with the first one, Blast Off. If you convert the letters to number, you get 9 after doing all the math."

"The first number of the code was 9," Mixmaster told everyone.

"Exactly. So, since the digital root just so happen to fit your guys name in alphabetical order, that would mean that safe is yours, correct?" Smokescreen said with a smug grin. Blast Off and Onslaught both glared at him before Blast Off replied.

"Fine, I suppose counting it as a coincidence is too much for you to swallow," he assented, with Onslaught giving a reluctant nod of acknowledgement.

"Knew I should've picked something less obvious," Onslaught muttered.

"So that proves it, right? One of you murder Nightbeat or Mirage!" Blurr shouted, glaring at the two of them.

"Oh, pipe down. Did the contents of the safe relate to the murder in any way?" Blast Off asked them.

"Well, yes," Smokescreen told them.

"Oh, really?" Blast Off scoffed, crossing his arms. "Which one?"

* * *

**The Communication Device**

The Spark Detector

Both

Neither

* * *

"The Communication Device," Smokescreen answered him. The reason why is because-"

* * *

Monobear File #3

Red Group's Lack of Alibi

Onslaught and Blast Off's Secret Rendezvous

State of Repair Bay

Broken Recorder

Missing Lever

Welded doors of the Casino Backroom

Locked Safe

Energon-Stained cloth

Energon-Stained Scalpel

Interconnecting Rooms

**Communication Device**

Mirage's Preferred Hand

Time of impalement

Hint to Safe password

Monobear File #4 (2)

Wire

Tap in the Pipe

Dents in the door.

Nightbeat's Note

Communications Device (2)

Spark Detector

'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad

Jazz and Beachcomber's Testimony

Tarp and Knife

Mirage's Note

Hoist's Present

Smokescreen and Hoist's Testimony

* * *

"-we found this communications device in the atrium in the fourth building, right outside the murder scene," Smokescreen told them. Blast Off glared didn't ceased, but Onslaught flinched at that. "I'm guessing that one is yours?" he told the leader, causing him to flinch again.

"There's no proof of that," Onslaught scoffed.

"Listen, the device in the safe could only be obtained by a Combaticon, and I highly doubt it's Swindle's since he's the one who helped us get it. That leaves you two," Smokescreen glared at him.

"Come now, there is only some circumstantial evidence," Blast Off scoffed.

"Circumstantial leads way to solid evidence. Soundwave found that out the hard way," Perceptor reminded him, causing him to flinch.

"Well, you got a point, but you got to find the solid evidence first," he reminded him.

"Very well. Get ready."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Spark Detector, Onslaught and Blast Off's Secret Rendezvous, Monobear File #4, Locked Safe, Interconnecting Rooms, Welded Doors of the Casino Backroom

PERCEPTOR: We know you two are involved…

PERCEPTOR: …you two just need to admit it.

ONSLAUGHT: **There is nothing definite!**

ONSLAUGHT: Just give up.

RATCHET: You two are determined, but it's useless.

KNOCK OUT: He's right, **everything leads to you.**

BLAST OFF: Quit it, it pointless to pin anything on us.

BLAST OFF: **The communication's device doesn't lead to us.**

BLAST OFF: **The spark detector doesn't lead to us.**

BLAST OFF: Just stop!

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: Got you!

Ammo Used: Spark Detector

* * *

"Blast Off, quick question, how often have you checked the evidence list," Smokescreen asked.

"Not much," Blast Off shrugged. "Why?"

"Well, how did you know the spark detector was in the safe?" Smokescreen asked.

"Huh?"

"We haven't talked about that thing once, and yet, you talk about it as if it's already a topic of discussion. Now, how do you already know about it, considering only five of us know about it: Me, Swindle, Hoist, Mixmaster, and Skywarp. That list doesn't include you."

"Guah," he gasped. "Dammit!"

"Hah! We got you!" Blurr yelled in joy.

"Well… what did I use it for?" Blast Off asked, regaining his cool.

"Huh?"

"Ah, good. You don't know. Let's talk about it."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Knife and Tarp, Mirage's Preferred hand, Interconnecting Rooms, Time of Impalement, Monobear File #4, Energon-Stained Cloth

BLAST OFF: What's the point of it?

BLURR: Well, you used it to help murder one of them!"

BLAST OFF: Well, if that's the case, which one do you propose I used it on?

BLURR: Well, I imagine it would be personal…

BLURR: …so **you used it to murder Mirage**!

SKYWARP: He could've used it to make sure no one was around…

SKYWARP: …to hear Mirage as he **yelled for help**.

BLUDGEON: He would've been struggling for a long time.

BLUDGEON: The poor fool.

BEACHCOMBER: Can we be certain about this?

BLURR: What other way can it be?"

NAUTILATOR: I wish **:Nightbeat:** was here

RATCHET: Well, he isn't, so we have to make due.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: That's wrong

Ammo used: Nightbeat

* * *

"Wait, Nautilator, you might've reminded me of something to prove that it couldn't be Mirage that Blast Off killed," Smokescreen told him.

"Huh, what does that mean? I didn't say anything!"

"You mentioned Nightbeat."

"Yeah? So what?"

"If Blast Off used his spark detector to help kill Mirage, how come he didn't noticed Nightbeat?" Smokescreen asked.

"Hey, that's right!" Onslaught agreed. "We encountered Nightbeat as he was exiting the med-bay. If the killer was using the spark detector, than they would've noticed him."

"Ergo, I couldn't possibly killed Mirage, the person who I had the biggest motive to kill," Blast Off pointed out to Blurr with a smug grin, causing him to wince.

"What the-? You two hated each other!" Blurr yelled.

"Then wouldn't that make me the most obvious person to frame?" Blast Off pointed out again to him. "If someone murdered Mirage, then naturally, suspicion rests with me as the one with the most obvious relationship to him."

"Then… then… what the frag was that spark detector for?!" Blurr yelled at him.

"Well, it wasn't to kill Mirage," Blast Off told him.

"Then you must've used it to help set the trap," Perceptor guessed. "That's why you used it?"

"I'm not quite so certain about that," Swindle butted in. "Me and him have been hanging out together since the second trial and he's had no time to get the equipment and set up the trap." He glared at Blast Off. "Although, your attitude is still suspicious."

"Hmpf, does it matter? It's obvious that I'm not the killer so you can stop your assertions," Blast Off said.

"What, that's impossible! It had to be you, you bast-"

"I agree," Perceptor announced, causing Blurr to gawk.

"What, but-"

"Enough Blurr. Blast Off, let's confirm something. You are the one who used the spark detector and only you," Perceptor asked him.

"Yes, although I won't tell you why," Blast Off ordered.

"That's fine," Perceptor agreed. "I believe you didn't kill anyone." He turned to Onslaught. "However, that doesn't clear _you_ ," he said to him.

"What?!" he yelled out, startled.

"Well, Blast Off admitted to using it. However, he never said anything about you being with him. Sense you were absent when he used it, it makes sense that you were not with him and killed Mirage when you were absent," Perceptor explained to him.

"What, but-"

"Is there any reason I'm wrong?"

"Is there a reason you're right?!"

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo Available: Communications Device, Communications Device (2), Spark Detector, Knife and Tarp, Interconnecting Rooms, State of Repair Bay, Broken Recorder

PERCEPTOR: If Blast Off didn't kill Mirage…

PERCEPTOR: …you're the next best suspect.

ONSLAUGHT: Once again, I must ask…

ONSLAUGHT: …do you have any proof!

PERCEPTOR: **We know you were out** , for starters.

ONSLAUGHT: That's circumstantial at best!

PERCEPTOR: We lack any other suspects that we can confirm were out.

ONSLAUGHT: Than we're missing one, obviously.

PERCEPTOR: You must've at least planned the meeting with Blast Off, correct?

ONSLAUGHT: **I had nothing to talk to him with!**

ONSLAUGHT: We were at different teams!

ONSLAUGHT: You're the one who keeps making these baseless accusations.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: Got you!

Ammo used: Communications Device

* * *

"Onslaught, are you seriously kidding me?! Smokescreen asked, insulted. "We found a communications device at the atrium that you must've dropped."

**THAT'S FLAWED!**

"There's nothing proving that I used that device," Onslaught told him.

"Oh, you really think that?" Smokescreen asked him.

"I know so!"

"Well, let's see if those big claims of yours keeps up."

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available: Monobear File, Knife and Tarp, Spark Detector, Nightbeat's Note, Mirage's Gift

ONSLAUGHT: Listen, it couldn't possibly have been me!

ONSLAUGHT: You have no direct proof.

ONSLAUGHT: You're just coming to a flaw assumption because I was up that night.

ONSLAUGHT: Won't you back off of me.

ONSLAUGHT: The actual murderer is elsewhere.

…

Development

…

SMOKESCREEN: It's true, I got no direct evidence…

SMOKESCREEN …but what if there was something that tied it to you.

ONSLAUGHT: Nonsense!

ONSLAUGHT: **I haven't acted strangely!**

ONSLAUGHT: **I haven't met up with Blast Off somehow before we met**.

ONSLAUGHT: Once again, you're throwing baseless accusations…

ONSLAUGHT: …because that's all you got.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: That claim is going down

Ammo used: Nightbeat's Note

* * *

"Onslaught, you have been acting strangely," Smokescreen accused him.

"How do you know? You weren't there," Onslaught argue against.

"You're right, I wasn't with you, but this note I got says something different," he told him.

"Huh?"

"Nightbeat wrote a message about you seemingly talking to yourself," Smokescreen informed him. "We found it on his body and it couldn't have been tampered with."

"It said that Onslaught was talking to himself?" Beachcomber muttered to himself. "Doesn't that mean he could've been talking into the communications device?"

"Hey? Why are you against me?" he turned next to him towards Beachcomber, who cowered away from him.

"I'm just pointing out what may have happen," he defended himself.

"Well, that doesn't make sense because I had no time to give it to Blast Off," Onslaught backed off and glared at everyone. "If me and Blast Off talked to each other through communications devices, when did I give it to him? We're in separate groups and my group didn't go with other groups. When and where did we give each other the communications device?"

"When and where?" Hound asked. "That is a good point. We have to have a point where he and Blast Off could've met."

"In which there is none," Onslaught growled.

"Hold on, I think I know where he could've done it," Smokescreen told everyone.

"Huh?" Onslaught asked.

"Well, you and Blast Off have to be together for a short time and there is only one place I can see you doing it."

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram!_

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

C/A/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

C/A/F/E/_/_/_/_/_/

C/A/F/E/T/E/_/_/_/

C/A/F/E/T/E/R/I/A/

**CAFETERIA**

SMOKESCREEN: Right here!

* * *

"We always meet up at the cafeteria. With us all mixed up in there, you or him easily could've passed a communication device to each other," Smokescreen told him.

"Oh, yeah… that could work," Hound agreed.

"So, no objections, Onslaught used the communications device to talk to Blast Off," Perceptor asked the group.

"Yeah," he agreed, along with most of the people around.

"Good," Perceptor muttered before turning to Onslaught. "Now, the device being their indicates that-"

"Look, I tossed that aside when me, Blast Off, Smokescreen, Hoist, and Nightbeat were heading to the Repair Bay without anyone looking," Onslaught suddenly admitted.

"Eh, that was sudden," Rewind said, skeptical.

"Look, me and Blast Off had to stay communicated so I can know how he was doing. I was suspicious when we were heading to the Repair Bay, so I tossed it aside," he told them.

"Wow… that is such a bad excuse," Wildrider muttered, clutching his head. "It least make it kooky."

"Look, I didn't kill Mirage or Nightbeat, so quit blaming me," Onslaught ordered weakly.

"Ha, we got you, you murdering bastard! You were the one who killed-"

"Shut up," Blast Off blandly said to him.

"Huh?"

"Listen, I didn't want to have to admit this, but since you bunch of idiots are so dead set on Onslaught murdering someone, let me dispel this claim once and for all," Blast Off told them. "Onslaught was with me since he left Nightbeat behind in the bathroom and we stayed together since before 1:30."

"Hey, you can't make that-"

"I'm not finish, so calm down, speedster," Blast Off talked down to him. Blurr flinched before staying silent as he waited for Blast Off to finish his explanation. "Now, let me explain, once and for all, what out rendezvous was about."

"Wait really? What is it?" Beachcomber asked.

"Quite simple really: we were planning a murder together that night," Blast Off told them. The group froze as Blast Off plainly admitted such a revelation. "Now, the question: Who was _I_ going to kill?"

"Isn't it obvious? Mirage or Nightbeat!" Hound answered.

"Naturally, you would assume that, but I'll go ahead and tell you that is wrong," Blast Off informed him. "A murder was supposed to happen tonight to someone who is still alive with us."

"Huh?" Smokescreen asked and even Hoist had stopped rebuilding the recorder to gawk at the spectacle before him.

"I was supposed to kill someone that is still alive. Now who is that?" Blast Off asked the room. Everyone was confused at that, as they all tried to make since of it Smokescreen in particularly was thinking really hard about it. Nothing about what Blast Off said makes sense. If he was going to murder someone that night, he had to be sure that someone would be wondering around that night and no one was certain to leave…

…

…

Except there was one person who Blast Off knew would be there.

"You cold asshole," Smokescreen muttered, figuring it out.

"Ah, good, you figure it out. Go on, tell them who else was supposed to be dead by my hand tonight were it not for all the interruptions."

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl_ ~~

~~_Mirage_ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_Nightbeat_ ~~

~~_Soundwave_~~


	55. Chapter 4: Trial PT 3

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl_ ~~

~~_Mirage_ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

**Onslaught**

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_Nightbeat_ ~~

~~_Soundwave_ ~~

* * *

"You… were planning on killing Onslaught, you demented fuck!" Smokescreen accused him, causing a silence to fill the room , which was broken by Swindle.

"What the… that's just… are you kidding? Why would he actively plan Onslaught's death?"

"Because I ordered him to do it," Onslaught answered, much to the surprise of everyone.

"What?" he balked. "Why would you-"

"Woah! Woah! I'm losing track of things here," Blurr told everyone.

"You're not the only one," Hound agreed, confused.

"What is there to be confused about?" Blast Off asked. "I was planning to murder Onslaught."

"Will you shut up!? That can't be true!" Swindle argued with him.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available : Time of Impalement, Locked Safe, Onslaught and Blast Off's Rendezvous, Broken Recorder, Communication Device, Red Group's Lack of Alibi, Tarp and Kinfe

SWINDLE: **Blast Off couldn't have planned to murder Onslaught!**

SWINDLE: It makes no sense!

BLAST OFF: Think on it, Swindle.

BLAST OFF: _**Something made it obvious I was planning a murder.**_

BLURR: You are being really upfront about this.

BLAST OFF: The truth can't be stopped.

SWINDLE: **You're not speaking the truth!**

REWIND: We need to be sure of this.

BUMBLEBEE: It's suspicious he would just go ahead and admit it like that.

SWINDLE: Exactly, he's lying!

SWINDLE: Don't trust a word he says.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: I agree!

Ammo used: Blast Off and Onslaught's Rendezvous

* * *

"Blast Off, are you talking about you and Onslaught's meet-up?" he asked.

"Someone's catching on," Blast Off complimented.

"The meet up… you meant that was when the two would meet up and Blast Off would kill Onslaught," Perceptor realized.

"Exactly. When we met up, I was going to kill Onslaught and-"

**ENOUGH!**

All optics turned to Swindle, who glared at Smokescreen with an evil glare. "Look, I can accept Blast Off wanting to murder someone, but Onslaught? With no proof that was going to happen? Are you kidding me?!"

"Swindle I know this is tough since you went through this earlier when you attacked Vortex," Swindle flinched, "but it's the truth."

"It isn't… I'll proof you wrong."

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available: Communications Device, Communications Device (2), Locked Safe, Knife and Tarp, Broken Recorder

SWINDLE: Are you out of your mind?!

SWINDLE: I know he's a killer…

SWINDLE: …but he wouldn't kill Onslaught.

SWINDLE: It's far more likely…

SWINDLE: …for him to kill Mirage or Nightbeat.

…

Development

…

SMOKESCREEN: Don't change the subject!

SMOKESCREEN: He was planning on killing Onslaught.

SWINDLE: Look, Blast Off was out to meet Onslaught…

SWINDLE: …so that they can **meet up on something**.

SWINDLE: Besides, **nothing proves he was out to kill**!

SWINDLE: Yes, their activities are suspicious, but they are not guilty.

SWINDLE: They were just out for things, maybe to get stuff from the stores…

SWINDLE: …but they're innocent of killing anyone!

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: Got you!

Sword Used: Knife and Tarp

* * *

"Swindle, remember what we found in the Storage Room?" Smokescreen questioned.

"Huh?" Swindle asked.

"Blast Off, you were going to use this knife and tarp, correct?" Smokescreen asked.

"Correct," Blast Off confirmed.

"What?" Swindle blurted out.

"Swindle, what purpose would this serve together? As far as I know, you would use it to kill and move someone, and that's it," Smokescreen told him.

"What- but-but-but-but," the salesmech mumbled.

"Swindle, I was going to use that to stab Onslaught and then moved him to someplace else. It's really not that hard to understand," Blast Off chided him.

"Don't talk down to him, Blast Off," Onslaught ordered.

"Right, sorry," he apologized.

"You're apologizing for that, but not conspiracy to murder? You guys are screwed up!" Nautilator said, baffled by their behavior.

"Well, we planned it together, so of course I don't mind," Onslaught told him.

"Why would you do that?" Drift asked, confused.

"So-"

"Shut up! There's no reason for this!" Swindle yelled at him.

"Swindle, please calm down," he tried to comfort him.

"No! No! No! Will you shut up!" he ranted.

"Swindle, please be-" Blast Off tried to quiet him.

"You shut up, you condescending fragger!" he silenced him.

"Swindle, calm down," Smokescreen tried to get him to calm down.

"No! There's no reason for this! Nothing!"

"…Let me see if I can give you one."

* * *

_Panic Talk Battle!_

SHIELD X8

SWINDLE: This all makes no sense!

SHIELD X7

SWINDLE: Lies!

SHIELD X6

SWINDLE: He wouldn't kill Onslaught!

SHIELD X5

SWINDLE: You are a moron!

SHIELD X4

SWINDLE: Gambling addict!

SHIELD X3

SWINDLE: He would only hurt others!

SHIELD X2

SWINDLE: Will you shut up!

SHIELD X1

SWINDLE: Drop Dead!

_SHIELD DESTROYED!_

SWINDLE: **Blast Off and Onslaught have no reason to planned this murder!**

DECIPHER BULLET!

GET TO OUT YOU

TO GET YOU OUT

SMOKESCREEN: This is the reason!

* * *

"Swindle, do you remember what the motive was?!" Smokescreen yelled at him.

"What about it? Monobear would grant a wish. That's irrelevant!" Swindle shot back.

"What if… that wish was to get you out with Blast Off?" Smokescreen asked him.

"Huh?"

"Onslaught, confirmed this for me. Did you do this so that you can get Swindle out with Blast Off?" Smokescreen asked him.

"...Yes, I can confirm that we planned this so that both Blast Off and Swindle could get out alive," Onslaught told him.

"Huh?" Swindle gasped in disbelief.

"I had an extended dialogue with Monobear about the motive in the bathroom during one of my shifts and he confirmed that we could leave with someone with us as our wish, but only one," he explained to them.

"When I murdered Onslaught and if I succeeded, I would be able to take Swindle with me. It was a high-risk, high-reward endeavor, but Mirage and Nightbeat's death stymied that," Blast Off told him.

"You were going to kill Onslaught… so you can get me out?" Swindle balked.

"Yes, but it failed, so you don't have to live with that on your conscious," Blast Off shrugged him off, much to Swindle's disapproval, who just looked on in shocked silence.

"That's… a screwed up way of showing your love for someone," Jazz mentioned.

"Meh. Do you see now why I thought this was a major waste of time, now?" Blast Off said. "I knew this would lead nowhere and we are no closer to the killer or killers than we were before."

"What, but…. we spent so much time on this. This can't just lead nowhere!" Knock Out yelled, disgusted.

"Them's the breaks, so we need to pick up the slack," Jazz told everyone. "We will talk to Onslaught and Blast Off about this later." He glared at the two, the former looking guilty while the latter was looking bored.

"Fine, now let's start on something long overdue and talk about Mirage's death," Blast Off told everyone, who all agreed with him, except Hoist, who was concentrating on the recorder.

"Well, he went out to meet me and Hoist at the Repair Bay where he was killed by being pushed against a piece of metal from the behemoth," Smokescreen informed them.

"Can we talk about that? Something about that seems a bit… off to me," Bludgeon mentioned.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Mirage's Note, Mirage's Gift, Intersecting Hallways, Nightbeat's Note, Mirage's Preferred Hand, State of Repair Bay, Broken Recorder

BLUDGEON: Forgive me, I'm not good on these types of things…

BLUDGEON: …but why was he there?

BLUDGEON: It couldn't be for a simple chat.

WILDRIDER: _**Murder**_!

SCAVENGER: Ah! I forgot about you!

WILDRIDER: Still here, pussy.

DRIFT: Murder is probably a bit too far.

DEAD END: But not out of the question.

HOUND: Maybe, he was _**stealing something from there**_?

BLUDGEON: I didn't notice anything missing there…

DEAD END: Did you check everything?

BLUDGEON: Not quite.

DEAD END: Of course not, you impetuous brute.

BLUDGEON: Impetuous!?

REWIND: Maybe, he had a _ **gift for Hoist**_?

REWIND: Those two were pretty close.

DEAD END: Not quite as close as you and Chromedome were.

REWIND: You like to oscillate between friend and complete asshole, don't you?

DEAD END: It's quite the talent.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: You're right!

Ammo Used: Mirage's Gift

* * *

"Let me go ahead and confirmed what Rewind said," Smokescreen interrupted. "Mirage was planning on giving Hoist a Newton's cradle that he built for him. Hoist!"

"Huh?" he recoiled, starring at everyone.

"Show everyone the Newton's cradle."

"Oh, sure," he agreed, crouching down and getting the Newton's table off the ground. He showed it off to everyone.

"That's what Mirage was planning on giving Hoist," Smokescreen told everyone. "It's why he was there."

"Well, good to see I'm right," Rewind bragged as Hoist put the cradle back down and went back to work on the recorder.

"So, Mirage planned on giving the present to Hoist, but he encountered the killer there and lost his life," Jazz recounted.

"So, did the killer hunted Mirage there or did two accidently stumbled onto each other and was just an unintended casualty?" Dead End questioned the group.

"How is that relevant?" Blurr asked.

"Oh, oh, I know! If Mirage was hunted there, than that meant that this is probably the killer's only kill, while if it's the opposite, then he's probably the one who laid the trap, since Mirage might've found something incriminating," Wildrider explained to everyone.

"Exactly. Intention could mean the difference between one killer and two," Dead End confirmed.

"Well, great, but how exactly are we supposed to figure out intention?" Bumblebee questioned him. "That's kind of hard."

"Well, let's figure that out," Dead End told everyone. "As our past performance has shown, I think we can reach a conclusion, even without Nightbeat's help."

"Optimistic, aren't we?" Mixmaster noticed.

"Not optimistic. Certain."

"If you said so."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Energon-Stained Cloth, Energon-Stained Knife, Energon-Stained Scalpel, Time of Impalement, Interconnecting Rooms, Monobear File #4, Broken Recorder

MIXMASTER: What is the killer's intention?

MIXMASTER: How can we decipher it?

BUMBLEBEE: Well, we got to look at the place he was killed…

BUMBLEBEE: …as well as what Mirage was doing.

PERCEPTOR: Mirage must've made extensive use of the **repair bay** in order to make the gift.

RATCHET: Either that or the tool room.

PERCEPTOR: Let's assume it's the repair bay since he **was killed there**.

REWIND: Well, I said it was incidental.

REWIND: **The only weapon the killer used was the spike!**

HOUND: That doesn't sound bad.

BLUDGEON: But the killer could've planned to impale him beforehand with the spikes.

BLUDGEON: One look at them is enough to determine they are deadly.

BUMBLEBEE: But that doesn't make sense!

BUMBLEBEE: A knife would be far more reliable.

JAZZ: If you can't get anywhere from this angle…

JAZZ: …let's try another.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: Got you!

Ammo used: Energon-Stained Knife

* * *

"Rewind, there was another weapon there," Smokescreen told him.

"Huh?" Rewind recoiled.

"We found a knife there, and it was stained with energon," he told everyone. "The killer must've brought it with him and-"

**NOT SO FAST!**

Smokescreen turned his attention to Hound, who was coming to Rewind's defense. "I read the evidence you know and I fear you may have gotten something wrong with what you said."

"What did I get wrong?"

"That knife was found in _Mirage's_ hand. If we're assuming that the person who brought the knife was intending to kill, wouldn't that mean, since it was found in his hand, that Mirage was the one with the intent?"

"Guah!" Smokescreen gasped and Hoist looked back up, shocked.

"I mean, isn't that the only thing that makes sense?" Hound asked again.

"N-no," Smokescreen stuttered.

"You don't sound confident," he noticed.

"No!" he shouted forcefully. "You say that Mirage brought it to kill someone. Run that for everyone."

"I see no reason not to. It's the only one that makes sense."

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available: Energon-Stained Knife, Energon-Stained Cloth, Mirage's Preferred Hand, Interconnecting Rooms, State of Repair Bay

HOUND: The knife was found in Mirage's hand.

HOUND: That implies that he brought it with him.

HOUND: He wasn't stabbed either.

HOUND: The Monobear file didn't mention an additional stab wound.

HOUND: So he had a knife.

HOUND: It had energon on it.

HOUND: He has no stab wounds.

HOUND: That means he was the one who brought it and attacked.

…

Development!

…

SMOKESCREEN: You're being too vague.

SMOKESCREEN: Give us some actual facts!

HOUND: You're joking right?

HOUND: The knife is his, as we found it in his **right hand.**

HOUND: To go along with that, he had no other stab wounds.

HOUND: If he did the Monobear file would've **made note of it**.

HOUND: Those two things make it absolutely clear…

HOUND: …that Mirage was the aggressor.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: That's getting cut down.

Ammo used: Mirage's Preferred Hand

* * *

"Hound, there was a small flaw in that argument of yours," Smokescreen told him with a grin.

"What? How can that be wrong?" Hound asked, annoyed.

"You see, Mirage was _left_ -handed," he pointed out to him, immediately causing Hound's optics to brighten.

"Oh, frag," Hound muttered, putting his head to his hand. "That's right. I completely ignored that."

"Huh? The knife was found in his right hand, but he's left-handed? What the frag does that mean?" Skywarp asked.

"Doesn't that mean the killer placed it in his hand while Mirage was alive?" Nautilator asked. "Why didn't he just drop the knife?"

"It's possible that by the time he placed it in his hand, Mirage had lost too much energon to do much hand movement," Ratchet answered. "His hands probably locked up in that position."

"But that brings a whole other problem in why he didn't just finish Mirage off while doing it. It could've just taken a second and Mirage's could've done nothing else to hurt the killer's chances," Knock Out told him.

"Well, what if he was playing dead?" Rewind asked. "He could've been convincing while doing that, with the whole spike sticking out of his chest."

"Well, that could work," Bumblebee agreed.

"This is great, but that leaves this one question," Scavenger said.

"What's that," Drift asked.

"Who did Mirage stabbed? I don't see any stab wounds on any of us," he pointed out.

"Uh, well, isn't it still possible that the energon is Mirage?"

"Monobear File mentioned no additional stabbed wounds," Hound told the swordsmech.

"I analyze the knife closely and saw specks of metal that didn't belong to the knife, so it was used to stab someone," Knock Out told everyone.

"Well, obviously they must've patched themselves up before coming to the trial," Mixmaster said.

"That would be very noticeable and me and Knock Out have seen no one with recent scars around here," Ratchet answered.

"How can someone be stabbed, but leave no markings visible for us to see," Jazz asked the group.

"It sounds impossible," Onslaught told him.

Smokescreen thought this through as they all kept arguing. How can they be stabbed without leaving a wound behind? He had to think this through.

* * *

_Logic Dive!_

Question #1: Can a stab wound leave no evidence behind?

A. Yes

B. No

…

**B. No**

…

Question #2: What could the killer do to cover it up?

A. Completely remove it.

B. Temporarily cover it up.

C. Ignore it and hope no one notices it.

D. Temporarily fix the wound.

…

**D. Temporarily fix the wound**

…

Question #3: How did he fix it?

A. Weld the wound shut.

B. Bandaged it up.

C. Leave the wound open

…

**A. Weld the wound shut.**

…

Question #4: Where did they go to fix it?

A. Repair Bay

B. Casino

C. Med-Bay

D. Atrium

…

**C Med-Bay**

…

Question #5: How did they hide it?

A. Paint

B. Medical Energon

C. Energon from the cafeteria

…

**B. Medical Energon**

SMOKESCREEN: It's all making sense.

* * *

"That's it!" Smokescreen shouted.

"You got the answer?" Beachcomber asked, hopeful.

"Yeah. The killer must've went to the Med-Bay to weld the wound shut and used the medical energon there to cover the wound," Smokescreen told everyone.

"Energon to cover the wound? Then… the killer is blue," Drift said, and all optics turned to Beachcomber, Onslaught, Blurr, Nautilator, and Smokescreen.

"Hey, don't look at me! Hoist and Smokescreen can confirm I was recharging when Mirage was impaled," Blurr immediately defended himself.

"He's right. Can't be him," Smokescreen told everyone. "And Hoist can confirm that I had nothing to do with this."

"So, Onslaught, Nautilator, or Beachcomber, one of you killed Mirage," Perceptor stated, glaring at them.

"Woah, woah, I had nothing to do with this!" Nautilator shouted.

"All I've done is cut myself. Here's the scars if you want to see it," he said, showing off scars on his wrist.

"Look, all I've done is planned my own death. I didn't get involve in Mirage's murder," Onslaught defended himself.

"Well… who do we believe?" Rewind asked.

"I don't know. None of them appear particularly innocent," Ratchet asked.

Smokescreen though this through. Could either of the three have actually murder Mirage? Onslaught was actively planning his own death, Beachcomber was flirting with death, and Nautilator was just a complete loser. Considering what the three were doing, none of them seem like they would kill in this case. Was there anyone else that could be the one to kill Mirage? Well…

…

…

…

There is one. And him being the one to kill Mirage makes way too much sense that he's surprise he didn't figure this out sooner. No one here suspects him because of one crucial thing.

"I think we can trust all three of them," Smokescreen announced to everyone.

"What, but that doesn't make any sense!" Skywarp shouted, annoyed.

"Actually, I got one person in mind that could be the one to kill Mirage," Smokescreen announced to everyone, causing them to go silent. "We've all ignore his possible involvement because of one critical point that will become noticeable once I point it out."

* * *

_Make an accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl_ ~~

~~_Mirage_ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_Nightbeat_ ~~

~~_Soundwave_ ~~


	56. Chapter 4: Trial PT 4

_Make an Accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl_ ~~

~~_Mirage_ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_**Nightbeat** _ ~~

~~_Soundwave_ ~~

* * *

"The person who killed Mirage… is Nightbeat," Smokescreen announced to everyone and the room froze at that. Everyone turned their attention to the portrait of Nightbeat, the blue X crossed over his face. One of the people that died was a murderer? And it was Nightbeat, the one who has contributed the most, overall, in the trials? That made no sense.

"How is that even possible?" Beachcomber asked, shocked. "He's been the one helping us the most. He saved our lives at each trial. Why would he do this?"

"I don't know, but everything points to him. He was confirmed to be out, so he has no alibi for the night," Smokescreen told him.

"To go along with that, on the way to the repair bay, Nightbeat did exit the Medical Bay. He could've been in there, taking care of the wound that Mirage inflicted on him," Blast Off pointed out.

"Wait, wait, hold on, let us dissect this carefully," Perceptor told them, calming them down. "Let's go over this, bit by bit."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Monobear File #4 (3), Spark Detector, Monobear File #4, Pipe, Wire, Dents in the Door, Tap in the Pipe

PERCEPTOR: You say that Nightbeat is the killer.

PERCEPTOR: What can we use to help prove that?

BUMBLEBEE: We've guessed that the killer had to make way to the Med-Bay…

BUMBLEBEE: …so as to use the energon there to cover their wound.

HOUND: Nightbeat does have **blue in his paintjob**.

RATCHET: But, we didn't find any wounds on Nightbeat except the one in his chest.

RATCHET: That was **caused by the lever impaling him**.

BLAST OFF: Yes, the missing knife wounds.

BLAST OFF: Where could they be?

BLURR: Who's to say they exist?

BLURR: Monobear file didn't mention them.

BLURR: **That's not very suspicious**.

REWIND: Yeah, the missing stab wounds…

REWIND: It really blows a hole in the whole thing.

NAUTILATOR: Then again, we haven't found stab wounds on anyone.

PERCEPTOR: Well, if there's : **nothing additional:** to say…

PERCEPTOR: …then we can reasonably assume that Nightbeat didn't kill Mirage.

* * *

Ammo Used: Nothing additional

SMOKESCREEN: That's wrong!

* * *

"Hold on, Blurr. Perceptor said something that has got me thinking…," Smokescreen told him, thinking things through.

"Huh?" Blurr asked.

"That particular Monobear file, Nightbeat's… there was something about it that was strange. It was…"

* * *

_What was wrong bout Nightbeat's Monobear File?_

The Time of Death

Cause of Death

Location

Not Shown

…

**Not Shown**

* * *

"…missing."

"What does that mean?" Blurr asked.

"Are you implying that something was missing from the file?" Skywarp asked.

"Yeah. Something was. That something was…"

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram!_

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/

A/D/D/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/

A/D/D/I/T/I/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/

A/D/D/I/T/I/O/N/A/_/ _/_/_/_/_/

A/D/D/I/T/I/O/N/A/L/ N/O/_/_/_/

A/D/D/I/T/I/O/N/A/L/ N/O/T/E/S/

SMOKESCREEN: That's it!

* * *

"…the lack of additional notes," Smokescreen answered.

"Huh? Aren't those, like, only there if there's something to point out?" Skywarp asked, rubbing his head confused.

"They're always there. Even if there's nothing wrong with the body, it's always there," Smokescreen told them.

"Wait, that's right. I remember that every Monobear File had additional notes, even if it had nothing new to say," Knock Out agreed.

"So… why would they not list it?" Mixmaster asked. "I see no reason to do so."

"My guest, it would be spoiling something important," Dead End guessed. "If we're trying to reach the conclusion that Nightbeat murdered Mirage, there has to be something there to show that Nightbeat killed Mirage. Let's find out."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo available: Broken Recorder, Monobear File #4 (2), Interconnecting Rooms, "Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad, Mirage's Note, Hoist's Present, Smokescreen and Hoist's Testimony, Pictures of Nightbeat's Corpse

SKYWARP: Alright, the additional notes are missing…

SKYWARP: …so what's on it that would spoil things?

KNOCK OUT: Well, the **knife wound** would be the obvious choice.

KNOCK OUT: Problem is, me and Ratchet couldn't find it.

HOUND: So, there's **no proof** the knife wounds are left out.

BEACHCOMBER: Well, then what was left out?

BEACHCOMBER: Does anybody have an idea?

NAUTILATOR: Well, maybe he was _**drinking something**_ that night?

JAZZ: Counterpunch had that listed in his.

JAZZ: I see no reason to leave that out.

NAUTILATOR: Yeah, that's a good point.

DRIFT: A _**terminal illness**_ perhaps?

BLUDGEON: I don't believe we've found any proof of that.

BUMBLEBEE: He didn't act particularly sickly either.

BLURR: He was only sick during the second motive.

WILDRIDER: Maybe you're all going insane…

WILDRIDER: …just like me.

SKYWARP: Nope.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: Got you!

Ammo used: Pictures of Nightbeat's Corpse

* * *

"Ratchet, I must thank you for taking those pictures," Smokescreen thanked him.

"Of Nightbeat's corpse?" Ratchet asked.

"I thought Rewind was the only one to enjoy them," Skywarp muttered.

"No, I don't enjoy them like a sick fuck, but there's something in there that proves that Nightbeat was stabbed by Mirage," Smokescreen defended himself.

"Really now?" Onslaught asked. "Alright, is there a specific picture that helps or would either one work?"

* * *

_Which picture is the one to prove Nightbeat was stabbed?_

The one with the lever embedded in his body

The one without the lever embedded in his body

Either one works

…

**The one without the lever embedded in his body**

SMOKESCREEN: This one works!

* * *

"The one without the lever in his body," he answered Onslaught.

"Alright. Then what was it about the photo that proves he was stabbed? Because I didn't see anything there to prove it," Ratchet asked him.

"To be honest, I didn't notice it either, but now that we got this possible solution in front of us, something doesn't make sense about his body," Smokescreen told him.

"Really now?" "Knock Out questioned. "What did me and Ratchet missed about the body?

* * *

_What was off about Nightbeat's body?_

The fresh energon

The dried energon

The lack of knife wounds

The lever wound

…

**The dried energon**

SMOKESCREEN: There is something wrong here.

* * *

"The dried energon," Smokescreen told them.

"Hmm?" Knock Out wondered. "The dried energon?"

"Yes. In case you remember, there was dried and wet energon coating the inside of his wound. Isn't that a bit odd, all things considering. I mean, he was just pierced by the lever. Why was there dried energon all over it as well as wet energon?" he told them. At that, both Ratchet and Knock Out looked at each other.

"The dried energon…?" Knock Out muttered.

"How did we not notice that?' Ratchet murmured.

"Uh, fill the one who doesn't know much about this in," Skywarp requested.

"The dried energon indicates that Nightbeat was wounded extremely recently when the pipe impaled him. Considering everything, it makes sense to say that the dried energon was from getting stabbed recently, or just suffering from a wound in general," Ratchet informed everyone.

"Okay, so Nightbeat was injured and energon was there and dried. So, considering the turn of events, it's most likely that he got that from Mirage," Jazz figured out.

"But, we still don't have the stab wounds," Blurr muttered, annoyed. "Until we figure out where those are, it's pointless to move forward."

"Oh yeah, we're still missing those," Rewind murmured. "If everything said is true, how come we haven't found it?"

"There is only one way to find that out: simple discussion. Prattle away until Smokescreen finds an answer," Dead End told everyone.

"Hey, don't you trust us?" Scavenger asked them.

"Not particularly," Dead End bluntly replied, causing Scavenger to give a sigh in disappointment.

"Fine…."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Energon-Stained Cloth, Energon-Stained Scalpel, Lever, Mirage's Perferred Hand, Wire, Tap in the Pipe, Dents in the Door

SCAVENGER: So, the missing knife wound…

SCAVENGER: …where could it be?

BUMBLEBEE: Do we have any clues?

JAZZ: Not that I know of.

JAZZ: We know Nightbeat covered himself in energon…

JAZZ: …and his entire chest was colored blue by paint and energon…

JAZZ: …so the **wound has to be there somewhere**.

WILDRIDER: Could it have just _**disappeared**_?

DEAD END: Rational responses only, please.

SKYWARP: Well, then maybe it's right in front of us.

SKYWARP: _**The wounds are all the same**_ …

SKYWARP: …and we're just being complete retards.

RATCHET: I wish we have an answer for this that makes sense…

RATCHET …instead of the words of morons.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: I agree!

Ammo Used: Lever

* * *

"Skywarp, every now and then, you do say something that makes sense," Smokescreen complimented.

"Huh?" he grunted.

"I think… that you're right. The wounds are all the same."

"Really? I was speaking out of my aft with that statement," Skywarp told him, bemused.

"Uh, what are you on about?" Ratchet asked. "Please tell me I didn't mistake you for a moron, too."

"Well, it quite simple. What if the two stab wounds were made in the exact same spot?" Smokescreen asked everybody.

"What?"

"I'm saying, what if the lever impaled him through the exact same spot that the knife wound was?" Smokescreen asked everybody.

"Wait… what?" Ratchet asked. "Are you kidding me?"

"Can you think of anything else?" Smokescreen questioned him. "Someone was stabbed with the knife in Mirage's hand, that much is proven. Nobody here has a knife wound. We definitely would've notice it by now. We know it isn't Mirage. So who does that leave?" he rhetorical asked everyone.

"Nightbeat…," Scavenger muttered.

"Why is there dried energon in Nightbeat?" Smokescreen asked everyone again.

"Because he was stabbed by the knife before he was killed by the lever," Knock Out answered.

"So… is there any arguments against my reasoning?" he asked everyone with his hands outstretch and a cocky grin on his face. The resulting silence from them answered his question.

"Okay, so can we go over a couple of things real quick, just to make sure we got everything right? I don't want us to make a mistake here," Perceptor told them.

"What do you want to go over?" Smokescreen asked.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: State of the Repair Bay, Interconnecting Rooms, Lever, Broken Recorder, Monobear File #4, Mirage's Gift, Mirage's Note, 'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad

PERCEPTOR: I'm not okay with this….

PERCEPTOR: Nightbeat saved our lives in the previous trials.

PERCEPTOR: But I **can't deny** the facts of the case.

PERCEPTOR: I just want to know…

PERCEPTOR: …what is his reason for killing Mirage?

REWIND: Yeah, that makes it so hard to believe.

REWIND: We've **found nothing that could show a motive**.

SKYWARP: He proved my innocence in the first trial when no one believed me.

SKYWARP: It sucks that it turned out he was secretly so selfish.

SKYWARP: Willing to sacrifice us for what?

SKYWARP: _**Freedom?**_

SKYWARP: _**A wish?**_

SKYWARP: I want it too, but I can hold out to get everyone out.

SKYWARP: …I can't believe I'm saying that.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: That's wrong!

Ammo used: Broken Recorder

* * *

"Hey, wait a moment Rewind. We might've found something to help us figure out Nightbeat's motive in all this," Smokescreen told him.

"Eh? What might that be?" Rewind asked him.

"Oh, is it the recorder?" Scavenger asked.

"Exactly," Smokescreen agreed.

"Yes!"

"The recorder? You mean what Hoist is working on?" Rewind asked, turning his stare over to him, who looked up at them.

"Almost done. Just a little while longer. They broke it thoroughly," Hoist told them, getting back to work.

"Well, I guess we won't know until he fixes it, but we'll go ahead and consider that the thing we need for clarity on why Nightbeat did it," Perceptor told everyone.

"Okay, just to help finish off this part of the murder, let's talk about what he did after he fixed his wound," Blast Off told everyone.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Interconnecting Rooms, Hoist's Present, Mirage's Note, Smokescreen and Hoist's Testimony, State of Repair Bay, Broken Recorder, Locked Safe

BLAST OFF: So, after Nightbeat weld the wound shut…

BLAST OFF: …what did he do?

ONSLAUGHT: I assume _**he came to meet us**_.

ONSLAUGHT: He was in the Med-Bay and he came to meet us.

ONSLAUGHT: It makes the most sense.

SCAVENGER: But, he destroyed the recorder and tossed it in the casino.

SCAVENGER: He had to **enter it after impaling Mirage**.

JAZZ: He's right.

JAZZ: Nightbeat had to break and tossed it in the trash there.

SCAVENGER: He also had to gather trash from somewhere to hide it under.

NAUTILATOR: So he had to **use the atrium** to get there.

NAUTILATOR: Then he went back to the Med-Bay to finish things off there.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: Are you an idiot?!

Ammo Used: Interconnecting rooms.

* * *

"I swear you get something wrong every trial, Nautilator?" Smokescreen lamented, holding his head in frustration. "The rooms are all interconnected, so he has no reason to go into the atrium, which would be a bad idea anyway, because Blast Off and Onslaught were both walking around the area, so he might've been spotted if he used the atrium."

"Oh, uh, my bad," the Seacon apologized. "I got it wrong."

"No shit," Smokescreen muttered, holding his head in mental agony. "The only person who makes more wrong assumptions is Blurr."

"Hey, shut it," Blurr threaten, raising his fist at him.

"Well, why did he head back to the Med-Bay?" Nautilator asked the group.

"I have a good feeling why that will shed some light on it," Smokescreen answered.

"Oh, answer please."

* * *

_Present evidence!_

Monobear File #3

Red Group's Lack of Alibi

Onslaught and Blast Off's Secret Rendezvous

State of Repair Bay

Broken Recorder

Missing Lever

Welded doors of the Casino Backroom

Locked Safe

**Energon-Stained Cloth**

Energon-Stained Scalpel

Interconnecting Rooms

Communication Device

Mirage's Preferred Hand

Time of impalement

Hint to Safe password

Monobear File #4 (2)

Wire

Tap in the Pipe

Dents in the door.

Nightbeat's Note

Communications Device (2)

Spark Detector

'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad

Jazz and Beachcomber's Testimony

Tarp and Knife

Mirage's Note

Hoist's Present

Smokescreen and Hoist's Testimony

Pictures of Nightbeat's Corpse

* * *

"He was using and disposing of this cloth that has energon on it in the Med-Bay," he told them.

"Probably to spread it over himself" Jazz said, thinking things through.

"That's great, but we're still missing the trash that he got to hide the recorder," Scavenger told them.

"I think I know where that came from too," Smokescreen told them.

"Oh, you do?" he asked.

* * *

Monobear File #3

Red Group's Lack of Alibi

Onslaught and Blast Off's Secret Rendezvous

**State of Repair Bay**

Broken Recorder

Missing Lever

Welded doors of the Casino Backroom

Locked Safe

Energon-Stained cloth

Energon-Stained Scalpel

Interconnecting Rooms

Communication Device

Mirage's Preferred Hand

Time of impalement

Hint to Safe password

Monobear File #4 (2)

Wire

Tap in the Pipe

Dents in the door.

Nightbeat's Note

Communications Device (2)

Spark Detector

'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad

Jazz and Beachcomber's Testimony

Tarp and Knife

Mirage's Note

Hoist's Present

Smokescreen and Hoist's Testimony

Pictures of Nightbeat's Corpse

* * *

"He used the various stuff from the Repair Bay that were missing," he told him. "I sure if we look at the items in detail, all of it would come from the Repair Bay."

"So the reason why it looked so clean is because he grabbed stuff to throw in the trash can in the casino," Onslaught figured out.

"Alright, we've figured it out. That's… a complicated order of events," Rewind murmured, rubbing his head. "Exactly how does all this work? What's the order of events?"

"Yeah… he did so much in so little time, it's pretty hard to imagine him doing it," Hound murmured.

* * *

_Logic Dive!_

#1: What did Nightbeat do first after impaling Mirage?

A. Throw the trash in the casino garbage can.

B. Weld his wound.

C. Clean up the Repair-Bay

…

**B. Weld His wound**

...

#2: What did he do after that?

A. Throw the trash in the casino garbage can.

B. Cover his wound

C. Clean up the Repair-Bay

…

**C. Clean up the Repair-Bay**

…

#3: After that?

A. Throw the trash in the casino garbage can.

B. Meet Smokescreen and the others.

C. Cover his wound

…

**A. Throw the trash in the casino garbage can.**

…

#4: And then?

A. Cover his wound

B. Meet Smokescreen and the others.

…

**A. Cover his wound**

SMOKESCREEN: I got it all.

* * *

"Alright, I think I got it. He had to fix the wound first or else he would bleed out. Then he cleaned up the Repair Bay and took it to the trash can, along with the Recorder at the bottom so he could hide it. After that, he went back to the Med-Bay to cover his wound up and went out to meet us in the atrium," Smokescreen told everyone.

"That makes sense. Damn, he worked hard to get that all done," Rewind murmured.

"I'm glad we figured it out," Hoist said thankfully, getting back to work.

"Okay, we got that done," Jazz said, "but now we gotta figure out who set the trap to kill Nightbeat."

"Yeah. In the end, we still have to execute someone," Bludgeon murmured. "At least we proved that the trapper and the one who killed Mirage are different people."

"Alright, let's get this done!" Blurr shouted. "We've figured out how the trap works, we just need to find out who set it."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Interconnecting Rooms, Hoist's Present, Mirage's Gift, Wire, Dents in the Door, 'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad, Tap in the Pipe

BLURR: Alright, the person who set the trap.

BLURR: I haven't found anything around to indicate exactly who the killer is.

BLURR: Do we have anything?

WILDRIDER: _**What about traces**_?

WILDRIDER: Body fluids and stuff from bleeders.

RATCHET: We didn't have enough time to figure that out.

KNOCK OUT: I found blue paint at the door…

KNOCK OUT: …but I always assume it was _**from Nightbeat**_ when he opened the door.

KNOCK OUT: I never assume it was important.

BEACHCOMBER: Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't.

BEACHCOMBER: Say, what about Hoist?

BEACHCOMBER: He's the **only one** with the skills.

HOIST: Huh?

HOIST: What are you talking about?

DEAD END: The complex roles we all play in life.

HOIST: Okay…

* * *

 

SMOKESCREEN: Got you!

Ammo Used: 'Building Objects and Traps for Dummies' Datapad

* * *

"We've found a datapad," he told everybody, looking over to Dead End, who gave a groan and showed it to everyone, "that teaches people how to make traps and objects. So to say that Hoist is the only one capable of doing it is flawed."

"Oh, damn it. I was hoping for an easy answer here," Beachcomber muttered.

"Nothing in life is easy," Dead End muttered, looking through the datapad. "We have to struggle hard to get through this bleak life and- huh?" he stopped, looking at what's in front of him. "Oh, _wow_."

"What did you found, Deady?" Wildrider asked with a grin, which was answered with a pain groan.

"This is what I get for not looking at a clue thoroughly," the pessimist replied rubbing his head in pain. "Smokescreen. Catch and feel the pain I'm in." He tossed it and Smokescreen catched it easily. Smokescreen glanced at him before looking at what he found and felt something lurched inside him.

'How to build a Newton's Cradle.'

"Oh _shit_."

* * *

_Make an Accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl_ ~~

~~_Mirage_ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_Nightbeat_ ~~

~~_Soundwave_ ~~


	57. Chapter 4: Trial PT 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delays.

_Make an Accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl_ ~~

~~_**Mirage** _ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

Blast Off

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_Nightbeat_ ~~

~~_Soundwave_ ~~

* * *

"The one who set the trap is Mirage!" Smokescreen shouted to everyone.

"What?!" he heard someone roar and turned to Hoist, who was glaring at him. "Are you delusional?!"

"Dammit… I'm going to have to work for this," Smokescreen muttered.

"What was that?!"

"Urk!" Smokescreen grunted. He was really going to have to tread carefully with Hoist. "Hoist, I…" Hoist glared even harder at him. "Um…"

"Mirage set the trap and killed Nightbeat," Dead End interrupted, helping Smokescreen.

"Do you have any proof to your claim!?" Hoist yelled, turning his attention to him.

"Well, it's in Smokescreen's hand right now," Dead End informed him. "Smokescreen, I know he's your friend, but if you don't tell him, I will. It's probably best if you do it."

"Well, what is it?" Hoist growled, turning back to him and Smokescreen flinched at that.

"Well, the datapad the killer used to help construct the trap also had instructions on how to build… something else," Smokescreen told him.

"What is that?"

"It's, um, well… a Newton's Cradle," Smokescreen told him and Hoist flinched at that.

"What… does that have to do with anything?" Hoist asked, turning back to the recorder and worked on it with shakier hands.

"Well, the person who set the trap used the datapad to help build it, so sense the Newton's Cradle was built by Mirage and was in that list of things to make objects and trap, it makes sense to say that Mirage built the trap as he built the cradle," Smokescreen explained to him.

"Well, is that all you got?" Hoist asked. "Mirage, I believe from how much I talked and worked with him, was skilled enough to do this without any help from a datapad."

"I'm not so sure. I mean, I know you could and I don't think you would need that. Mirage on the other hand-"

"Was very skilled," Hoist told him.

"Yes, but I doubt he was up to your level," Smokescreen rebuked him. "He could do it, but he needed instructions to pull it off."

"…It can't be."

"It is."

"No, it isn't. Will you stop it?!"

"No. We could vote without you right now and get out alive, but I want to get it through your head that Mirage is a killer," Smokescreen growled to him.

"But where's the proof?" Hoist asked. "You can't just blame him for it, especially when he isn't here."

"But this datapad-"

"Is circumstantial! Anyone could've use it. It had the Newton's Cradle in it? So what? Have you check everything else in there? I'm sure there's something for everyone there," Hoist began rebutting him.

"Hey, what gives you the impression?" he asked. "The Newton's Cradle is the only one we know."

"That and the trap, which we agree that anyone could make with this datapad. So, you got an argument?" he asked.

"What the… just give me a second," Smokescreen muttered.

"Hmph, we'll see…."

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available:

HOIST: You claim that Mirage had to be the one to own it.

HOIST: You're claim is the Newton's Cradle being in there.

HOIST: That is not sufficient reason to blame him.

HOIST: You're taking this sentimental gift that Mirage gave me…

HOIST: …and using it to try and blame it on him!

…

DEVELOPMENT

…

SMOKESCREEN: Hoist, I'm really sorry…

SMOKESCREEN: …but I can't believe this is a coincidence.

HOIST: But some things are a coincidence.

HOIST: We've prove that in this trial alone.

HOIST: Yet, this coincidence is the straw that broke the camel's back.

HOIST: Are you kidding me?!

HOIST: I can't believe you would do something like that, Smoke.

…

DEVELOPMENT

…

SMOKESCREEN: I'm not kidding you!

SMOKESCREEN: Mirage has to be the killer.

HOIST: Yet, you cannot definitely prove anything.

HOIST: There's **no traces** of Mirage on that datapads.

HOIST: That means nothing is there to prove Mirage touched it.

HOIST: And I definitely know **he never mentioned it**.

HOIST: Now, I shall continue fixing this damn recorder.

* * *

SMOKESCREEN: That's wrong.

Sword Used: Mirage's note.

* * *

"Hoist, remember that note Mirage gave you with the Newton's Cradle?" Smokescreen asked him.

"Yeah. I still got it," Hoist said, smiling at that.

"Read the second sentence," Smokescreen ordered.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hoist asked, withdrawing it to look at it.

"You'll see," he said and Hoist read it. Immediately, he gave a gasp.

"No… that can't be…," he whispered.

"For those of you who don't know, the second note says he got the information to build the Newton's Cradle from a datapad," Smokescreen told everybody.

"Like the one to build the trap," Jazz muttered, all of it coming into place.

"Well, that settles it, right?" Knock Out asked everyone. "Nightbeat killed Mirage and vice versa.

"That sounds unbelievable, but it's the answer that makes the most sense," Drift agreed.

"But… that can't be," Hoist muttered as he started putting the final touches on the recorder to get it working again.

"Hoist, now is probably the time to stop. It's no use defending someone who's clearly guilty. I know this," Rewind told him.

"But, what about motive?" Hoist asked. "I haven't heard anything about that. How does the motive affect him?"

"Huh? What does that mean? We all have to get out of here. This motive just gave Mirage the bonus of a wish to fulfill," Skywarp answered him.

"What was the wish!?" Hoist shouted at him. "I want a clear-cut reason for him to do it!"

"Hoist, are you sure about this? The answer is clear as day!" Ratchet grumbled.

"I want answers!" Hoist shouted.

"I… might know," Smokescreen answered. "It's similar to another person's motive for attempted murder."

"You don't know it! Mirage has no reason to do so!"

* * *

_Panic Talk Battle!_

SHIELD X6

HOIST: Your thinking is broken!

SHIELD X5

HOIST: There is no motive for Mirage.

SHIELD X4

HOIST: The logic is out of order!

SHIELD X3

HOIST: I should stick a wrench through your neck!

SHIELD X2

HOIST: Stop trying!

SHIELD X1

HOIST: Mirage is innocent!

_SHIELD DESTROYED!_

HOIST: He had no reason to commit a murder!

DECIPHER BULLET!

GET OUT TO YOU

TO GET YOU OUT

SMOKESCREEN: This is the reason!

* * *

"Huh, Mirage and Blast Off have a lot more in common than I thought," Smokescreen muttered.

"What does that mean?" Hoist asked.

"Yes, I'm intrigued," Blast Off agreed with him.

"Well, just like Blast Off planned Onslaught's murder to get Swindle out, Mirage use the trap to get you out, Hoist," Smokescreen informed him, causing a loud gasp from Hoist.

"You're saying, he did it… to get me out?" Hoist asked. "He wouldn't, would he?"

"Blast Off and Onslaught planned it. Why couldn't Mirage?" Smokescreen asked him and Hoist flinched at that. "Exactly. He could and you know it."

"But… but… I fixed it," Hoist said.

"Huh?"

"The recorder. I got it fixed. You want to hear it?" he asked them.

"Uh, sure. Is that… alright with everyone else," Smokescreen asked everyone awkwardly and everyone likewise awkwardly agreed. "Yeah, we got a consensus. Play it."

"Alright, playing it," Hoist told them, and pressed play. Immediately, a sound of a fight escaped from the recorder as the clacking of the recorder hit the ground. They all listened in as the struggle kept going, oscillating between loudness as the two moved around in the fight, until a loud _sclesh_ came out and a gasp came out. They could hear raspy noises, more than likely from Mirage being impaled.

" _It wasn't supposed to be like this,_ " the identifiable voice of Nightbeat said, shaken from what's been done, highlighted by the sound of him pacing back and forth, although he did sound a bit weak.

" _Gah… and yet it did_ ," Mirage struggled to say, the sound of hacking coming from him. " _Guess this is your fault._ "

" _I found your trap you try to send me to! You brought this on yourself!_ " the detective accused him, much to the shock of everyone. Nightbeat knew about the trap? Then why was he killed by it?

" _Yeah, well, you decided to confront me yourself instead of getting the others,_ " he accused followed by more hacking from him.

" _That's right, I did…._ " Nightbeat agreed, the sound of him walking stopping. " _When you bleed out, I'll be a killer and everyone will have to figure out that I'm the one who betrayed their trust. I'll have to lie to their face._ "

" _Going to be hard with the wound I gave you,_ " Mirage mentioned.

" _Yeah, you're a better fighter than I gave you credit for,_ " he complimented him through grunts of pain.

" _Thanks… you bastard,_ " Mirage said before coughing loudly.

" _You know… I don't think I could handle their faces when it's revealed I'm the culprit, whether I succeed or not. That look of betrayal on their faces would be too much and having to watch them die if I win would just be unbearable._ "

" _And they'll have to figure it out while you're trying to deceive them. Considering our past performance, they probably won't succeed,_ " Mirage labored to say.

" _Yeah, I guess they won't_ " Nightbeat consented, leaving a few people insulted by that remark. " _Why did you plant that trap?"_

" _I've planted that a while after we investigated it. It was pretty touch and go, as Ratchet was up at the mall at the time. He heard me walking, but didn't take the time to investigate, instead leaving the area in a hurry,"_ Mirage explained to Nightbeat. " _I knew that a motive would be coming soon, so I prepped for that. Then Monobear revealed we get a wish."_

" _Is that why you try to get me to trigger the trap?"_ Nightbeat asked.

" _Yeah… I wanted to take Hoist with me out of here. Monobear said I could. I knew that, with how restrictive things were, it was going to be difficult to get anybody to trip it."_

" _That's why you told me to go to the basement tonight at the lunchroom,"_ Nightbeat realized. This surprised everyone with that admission.

" _Yeah… and I had an alibi arranged for it as well, but you've ruined it. I'll probably bleed out before I can talk to Hoist,"_ he bemoaned.

" _Yes… you probably will_ ," Nightbeat agreed and he started pacing again. " _I know what I'm doing_."

" _What's that?_ " Mirage asked.

" _I… don't want to live for this mistake,"_ Nightbeat admitted.

" _What, you're just going to give up?"_ he asked.

" _No… you're trap is going off_."

" _Suicide,_ " Mirage muttered.

" _No. It's murder. You planted it. I tripped it. The intention for it hasn't changed. You'll be the killer when that trips_ ," Nightbeat told him.

" _What… what are you planning?"_

" _Two killers. I want to see if they deserve to live without me, so this will be a test run for them,"_ Nightbeat coldly explained.

" _What the… you're psychotic!"_ Mirage yelled at him.

" _I won't be the last killer. Might as well prepare them for future killers and take that trap of yours out of the equation. It's the only thing that I can-"_ He paused, his footsteps stopping close to the recorder. " _The recorder's on,_ " he said. Not long after he said that, there was a crunch and the recording ended. Everyone flinched as that happened except for Hoist, who just stared blankly down at his recording.

"Well," he said, his voice breaking, "I think that's enough proof. Mirage killed Nightbeat. Nightbeat killed Mirage." He stood silent as that happened.

"Right," Dead End muttered, "you want to explain this from the top, Smokescreen?"

"Yeah, I can," Smokescreen agreed, getting ready to do his summation. "Here's what happened."

* * *

Climax Logic!

Chapter 1

This all started several nights ago, a couple of days before the motive, one of the killers, who we will called the trapper, gather supplies from the store and a lever in the casino and made his way to the basement, almost alerting Ratchet. The trapper, thankfully for him, had the ability of invisibility and could transfer the equipment there with little chance of being caught. Once there, he began to set up the trap.

Chapter 2

He connected a tap to a pipe in the back and placed the lever in the pipe, planning on using the air from it to propel it forward. After a few test fires to get it right, he wrapped the wire around the button lightly to not set it off and connected it to the door so that when anyone opened the door, the wire would tighten around the button and the lever would propel forward, impaling the person.

Chapter 3

On the day of the murders in the lunchroom, with the limited time of the motive, he decided to convince someone to meet him at the basement so that the person could set the trap. Unfortunately, the person was the other killer and he had sharp optics. As the ultimate detective, they're learned not to take things at face value. 

Chapter 4

That night, the trapper went to the Repair Bay to establish an alibi with me and Hoist at 2 while the killer went to the basement. The killer noticed something amiss and figured out that the door was rigged to kill him if he opened it. Angered by this, the killer left to confront the trapper.

Chapter 5

The killer met and fought with the trapper with his knife, accidently turning the recorder on. The struggle turn violent, leading to the trapper to stab the killer with his own knife nonfatally, but that wasn't enough to stop him. The killer ended the fight by tossing him onto a spike from the behemoth, mortally wounding him.

Chapter 6

Leaving the dying trapper behind, the killer began cleaning up after himself. He went to the Med-Bay using the interconnecting halls to avoid Blast Off and Onslaught, who had planned their own murder tonight as well. He went in and weld his stab wound before he smeared medical energon on his entire chest to cover the scar, as it was a reasonable approximation of his frame's color.

Chapter 7

Once that was done, he went back to the Repair Bay and began cleaning up there. He grabbed everything that was messed up from the fight and transferring it to the casino in a garbage can there, placing the recorder at the bottom to keep it hidden. After that, he went back to the Repair Bay and cleaned up there, using a rag in there.

Chapter 8

After that, the killer went back to the Med-Bay and tossed the rag in there. With his work done, he exited the room to encounter me, Hoist, Onslaught, and Blast Off. The five of us enter the Med-Bay, where we found the almost dead trapper, who gave his last words to Hoist before passing away.

Chapter 9

After that, the killer engaged in his last act, heading back to the mall with a bunch of suspects. When he got the chance, he asked Swindle to let him go to the basement. Swindle let him, going off on his own over there. He quickly made his way down there, with me, Hoist, and Swindle following behind him, where he purposefully opened the door to let himself get skewered by the lever, ending his life.

The trapper was **Mirage** and the killer was **Nightbeat**!

* * *

The room was silent at the explanation, everyone giving silent agreement, with the only one who spoke was Hoist.

"Yeah, those are the two who betrayed us. They're both murderers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all saw this coming. I'm just glad to finally get this chapter done after a month. Got one more chapter and then we're done with Chapter 4 and we'll be on to Chapter 5.


	58. Chapter 4: Aftermath

"Now then, are all of you ready to vote?" Monobear asked the room cheerily.

"Yeah, I think we've reached the right conclusion," Jazz agreed for the whole group.

"Alrighty then, just like before, vote for who you think the killer or killers are in this case! Two bodies so you can pick up to two," Monobear told them. Everyone nodded and got their electroID out, preparing to vote. Hoist was slow on the draw, but followed along after a few seconds and clicked on voting. Thirty headshots came up, all the previously dead teachers having blue Xs with Chromedome, Mirage, and Nightbeat added to it and the question 'Who killed Mirage' at the top. He clicked on Nightbeat and his headshot enlarge to cover the screen and it ask if he was sure of his selection. He said yes and the pictures went back to the thirty headshots with the question "Who killed Nightbeat?" on it. He clicked on Mirage and the question came up again and Hoist hesitated slightly before clicking on it. He was dead anyway.

Hoist put up his electroID, the last one, and Monobear began speaking again. "The results are in. Are you despairingly correct or despairingly wrong? First, the result of who killed Mirage!" he announced and the slot machine from nowhere started up, spinning and spinning before landing on Nightbeat and a bunch of confetti and coins erupted from it. "Now for who killed Nightbeat!" he announced and the slots spin again until it landed on three pictures of Mirage and they were right again, covering everyone in coins and confetti. "Congratulations! Mirage, the Ultimate Scion, and Nightbeat, the Ultimate Detective, killed each other, making each other the culprits of this case! Let me be honest, I've never seen that before!" Monobear announced to everyone

"Well, didn't see this coming," Skywarp muttered, scratching Laserbeak's head.

"No kidding," Drift agreed, pleased with the results. "That result never crossed my mind."

"So… is their still going to be an execution?" Knock Out asked, unsure.

"Well, as much as I want to, nah. Got to follow the rules. Besides, I'll just count Nightbeat's death as an execution. Certainly came across as a cheap rip-off of my planned execution for him," Monobear told them. "Kind of disappointing, I'll be honest, but that overpowered Nightbeat is finally gone, so I'll take it!" he yelled happily.

"Well, there's one small comfort," Ratchet muttered.

"Not much of one," Dead End muttered.

"I know. Two people are still dead."

"Better than all of us." Drift reminded them. "Remember that."

"Yeah… always a positive," Smokescreen muttered as he looked at Hoist, who was staring at his Newton's cradle. "You alright, Hoist?" he asked him.

"Just fine…," Hoist said, his voice hallow. "I just… need to be alone for a little while."

"You don't have to be."

"Trust me, I'll be fine. I just need to think Mirage's actions over," he repeated in that same hallow tone.

"I swear, you're an idiot if you think I'm going to leave you alone."

"So…," Skywarp muttered, trying to change the subject, "the new area is open, right Monobear?"

"Well, you survived, so you are correct! That must be a rare feeling," the bear chuckled.

"Hey, I'm smarter than I look!" he yelled, shaking a fist at the bear.

"They say denial is the first step," he continue to taunt the warper.

"Ergggg," Skywarp muttered, with Laserbeak rubbing against his neck to cool him down. "Let's get out of here before I make a decision I regret," he ordered everyone, walking out to the elevator.

"That would be for the best," Hound agreed, and one-by-one, everyone headed to the elevator, the last ones being Hoist and Smokescreen, the former carrying the Newton's Cradle and the latter the toolbox. With they entered, Blurr pressed the button and the whole group rode up the rickety elevator up back to the first floor of the building and filed out, splitting off.

* * *

"Drinks all around," Blurr said as he poured glasses of low-grade for everyone that met up at the bar, in this case, being Jazz, Bumblebee, The two Constructicons, Ratchet, Drift, Beachcomber, and, most surprisingly, Dead End.

"Thanks, Blurr," Jazz said as they got their drinks.

"Much appreciated," he said as he finished off by giving himself a drink.

"I swear, I'm so disappointed," Drift murmured, taking a drink. "I thought this was going to work."

"I'm glad I almost never feel that," Dead End muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you were right. Another murder happened. Bet you're happy," Drift angrily said.

"I have no reason to be happy," he responded, drinking the low-grade quickly.

"You're no Wildrider," Mixmaster murmured.

"Yeah, glad that psycho didn't join us," Bumblebee muttered. "I can't help feeling uncomfortable around him, even when he's helpful."

"Hey, no psycho talk. Save that for the hangover tomorrow," Blurr told him, downing the glass.

"I find nothing wrong with that statement," Ratchet agreed. "I needed this drink after all that's happen in the past couple of days."

"I need one for everything that's happen since we got here," Beachcomber muttered.

"That too."

"So, just 22 of us left alive," Scavenger said, finishing his glass. "That isn't a very comforting feeling."

"Hey, don't worry, we still have over two-thirds of the people left alive," Jazz told him.

"We still have eight dead," Dead End shot him down, "plus all the bodies in the basement."

"We still have no idea what we did during out time here except for the fact that we did teach students," Bumblebee added.

"Amnesia sucks," Beachcomber summarized his statement.

"We'll figure it out. Just give it time," Jazz told them.

"We have a limited amount of time, in case you forgot," Dead End reminded him, finishing his glass.

"Yeah… but I imagine we have enough."

"How annoyingly hopeful."

"Okay, you two are annoying," Ratchet murmured, finishing off the glass. "We can't afford to be eternally hopeful," he glared at Jazz, "nor can we think every effort is for naught," he shifted it to Dead End, "but methodically research everything we have with heavy skepticism of our peers' intentions."

"It makes sense," Mixmaster agreed, finishing his glass as well. "I refuse to be killed by anyone here, but I want to get as many people out as I can."

"Including me?" Scavenger asked, unsure.

" _Especially_ you," Mixmaster told him.

"…Thanks," his gestaltmate said, rubbing his head nervously and with a smile on his face.

"Man, I wish I had someone who appreciated me like you two each other," Beachcomber muttered.

"Hey, relax, we all appreciate you," Drift comforted him, putting an arm around Beachcomber's shoulders. "You just need to talk to us more instead of taking a blade to yourself."

"Thanks for reminding me," Beachcomber grumbled.

"Seriously, do talk to us more, alright?" he asked him again.

"Well, might as well. Just as long it isn't just the two of us."

"Fine with me."

* * *

"Another trial. Another two gone. Like clockwork," Bludgeon muttered in the lunchroom as him and Nautilator were having a midnight snack, as well as the Combaticons, Rewind, and Hound.

"Yeah. 22 people left. More than likely several more to go," Nautilator darkly wondered on it as they took a seat at the lunchroom table.

"How did we let this happen?" Rewind muttered.

"I'm looking at two of the instigators," Hound mentioned, glaring at Onslaught and Blast Off.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Blast Off said, giving his best glare back at him. Onslaught likewise glared at him, with Rewind joining in at that, while Swindle just looked down at the table silently.

"Is this necessary?" Bludgeon asked. "The murders have been solved. There is no more need for this foolishness."

"These two were planning a murder!" Hound shouted.

"Wasn't Rewind an accomplice in a murder?" Nautilator asked, causing both of them to flinch. "He was totally willing to let us all die just to let Chromedome live."

"Exactly. What we did was no worse than what Rewind did," Blast Off reprimanded him. "Blaming us is just hypocritical on your part."

"And unlike Chromedome, he would be able to get Swindle out of here with him," Onslaught added.

"Look, you two cretins. Counterpunch's death was self-defense. Of course Rewind would defend him, unlike you two's cold-blooded attempt of murdering each other," Hound defended Rewind's actions.

"Does intention change anything?" Onslaught questioned. "He still tried to get everyone killed."

"Yes, it does, you fraggers."

"I'm heading to my room," Swindle suddenly cut in, getting up and heading out, speaking the first words he said since Smokescreen explained why Blast Off would've killed Onslaught.

"Swindle, wait-" Onslaught began, getting up.

"I'm leaving by myself. Don't follow," he shut him down as he exited the room. Onslaught stared at where Swindle was before sitting down, unnerved.

"Swindle really took our plan as a personal betrayal," Onslaught muttered.

"Yes, he does," Blast Off agreed. "He probably wanted to give his input, maybe even stop our plans."

"It would've been for the best if you did talk to him," Hound agreed, "I recommend you do it tomorrow morning."

"Thanks," Blast Off muttered.

"No problem," Hound nodded. "I overreacted to your murder attempt. Condemning you while comforting Rewind is hypocritical, I must admit."

"It's no problem," Onslaught waved him off. "Since the motive is gone and will probably never be used again, I see no reason to plan another murder. The only way I'm getting my men out is if we takedown the mastermind."

"That's something I can get behind," Rewind agreed.

"Yes…," Bludgeon agreed. "I hope all of us are present when he dies."

* * *

"You can't be serious," Perceptor muttered as him and Wildrider stood before the entrance to the new area. The three rooms led to another room behind them leading to a wide door taking up almost an entire wall.

"Yeah, I'm serious. Me and you, exploring the great unknown of the new area together. It sounds so good, I can smell a potential sitcom," Wildrider told him.

"Yes, yes, whatever, why me?" Perceptor asked.

"I like you." Perceptor raised a metaphorical eyebrow at that. "That and Dead End insisted that he wanted to get wasted at the bar tonight, which I didn't feel like."

"You seem like the person who would enjoy that," Perceptor muttered.

"Damn right, I do, but I really wanted to explore the new area and I know that you can't resist the urge of discovery. You're a scientist after all," Wildrider explained to him.

"True. The sense of discovery is always a wonderful feeling," Perceptor agreed, turning his gaze backed to the door. "Alright, shall you have the honors or I?" he asked.

"You're the professional."

"It's just a click of a button."

"And I want to see you push the button like an absolute professional scientist of awesome," Wildrider told him with a bright smile. Perceptor glared at it him, wondering if he was being serious, before reminding himself that this was _Wildrider_ he was talking with and realized that he was probably being serious.

"Fine, I'll push it," he said, heading to the console on the right side.

"Like a _professional_ ," Wildrider reminded him.

"Like a _professional_ ," Perceptor mimicked as he reached the console. He decided to play along with Wildrider delusions of professionalism and held up his pointer finger to Wildrider, who watched with glee. "Now, in order to push a button like a professional, it's best to use a pointer finger as it as the most natural for something like this. If you don't have five fingers, improvise," he said, before shifting it over the button to push it in, holding it at a angle and a arm behind his back, like a _professional_. "Look at how I have it set up. Directly above it with a angle to properly exert as much force as possible to the button. Once you have it set up correctly," he brought it down onto the button, allowing the doors to begin opening, "push in, like a _professional_." Wildrider gazed at him, amazed.

"That was so… so… awesome!" he cheered earnestly, clapping nonstop. "You were truly made to push buttons."

"Yes, I was. Thank you," he said as he glanced at the opening doors. "Now then, I believe it's time to discover what this new area is."

* * *

"You know he cared about you," Smokescreen told Hoist as they were seated in Hoist's room at the table.

"Yes, I know…," Hoist said, priming the Newton's cradle by pulling a ball back and letting go, allowing the momentum to push the ball at the back up and back down, letting the previous ball back. "He did well with this," he muttered, letting it clack as they talk.

"Yeah… listen, just try to remember all the good parts about Mirage. I'm sure he would appreciate that instead of, you know," the gambler said, leaving the implication in the air.

"I know he would… but it isn't that easy," he said. "He was planning this murder before the motive was even laid out, as you heard him say on the recording. I can't help but wonder how much was him actually trying to be my friend or him establishing an alibi."

"Well," Smokescreen muttered, thinking it through, "I don't know he was the rest of the way, but I know that, in the end, in his final moments, he wanted to be your friend. If he didn't I don't think he would built that for you," he pointed out the Newton's Cradle.

"Yes… there is that," Hoist murmured. "He built this, as a sign of friendship. A friendship that we never got to properly have."

"Exactly. I'm sure, if he was still alive, you two would've been best friends," Smokescreen comforted him.

"Yes. Could've been," Hoist said dejectly.

*Knock Knock*

"I'll get it," Hoist said, getting up and head for the door. He walked on over slowly and opened the door to see Knock Out standing there. "Yes?"

"Hey, remember what we agreed upon in the casino?" Knock Out asked, cracking his knuckles. Hoist went blank thinking it though before his face turned to shock.

"You remember that?" he asked.

"Yep," Knock Out replied before pulling his arm back and sending it forward.

*Crunch*

"Gah!" Hoist yelled, knocked back to the floor and holding his face.

"Hoist!" Smokescreen yelled, leaping up to help him.

"That's for making me have to walk around asymmetrical for two days, you sparkless monster," Knock Out said before pulling shut the door loudly.

"Are you alright?" Smokescreen asked, trying to look him over.

"Yeah," Hoist replied, moving his hand away to show a small trickle of energon sliding down his head from a dent on the left temple.

"Damn, for a pansy, he can punch pretty hard," Smokescreen said, amused by it.

"He is surprisingly strong," Hoist agreed, getting up.

*Knock Knock*

"Oh, son of a bitch," Smokescreen muttered, heading over to the door. "I'm punching him in the face."

"Wait, hold it. That won't solve anything," Hoist told him, trying to stop him.

"Don't care," he said, opening the door quickly and punching straight, only to hit air.

"What the?" he asked, looking around.

"Can you watch it, aft?" a voiced said behind him and turned to see Skywarp standing behind Hoist, who looked scared by his sudden entrance.

"What the hell, Skywarp!?" Hoist asked, jumping back from him.

"What? I just came to talk," he said, shrugging his shoulders before walking over to take a seat. The two Autobots looked at each other before Smokescreen closed the door.

"Okay, why are you here?" Hoist asked as the two of them took a seat at the table.

"I just needed someone to talk to. Surprisingly, I appear to be the one taking Nightbeat's betrayal the hardest," Skywarp informed them, Laserbeak perched quietly on his shoulder.

"You are?" Smokescreen asked.

"Damn right. He proved my innocence in the first trial. He had my respect for that, so to have it reveal that he murdered someone kinda shocks me," he explained to them, depressed. "'I can't believe he did that and all that bullshit reasoning. I would've punched him in the face if he wasn't already dead."

"Yeah… I didn't know him much," Hoist muttered.

"Neither did I and I was with him for some time in that room when we were suspected of being the serial killer," he told them.

"Yeah, well, I found this note by him in front of my door," he said, showing off a datapad. "It's basically his last will and testimony."

"It is?" Hoist asked.

"Yeah. It wasn't much. Just a few things about his past that he requested that I kept to myself and some apologies for things ending as they did," Skywarp told them.

"Wow, sounds like he expected you to survive the trial," Smokescreen noticed.

"Yeah, anyway, that isn't the important part. He left an excerpt from a poem behind for some reason for me. Wasn't much. Just a single line from it," Skywarp told them.

"What was it?" Hoist asked.

"'I Feel That Pale Death Creeping In,'" he recited to them.

"What the… that's weird for him," Hoist muttered.

"I know, so I went to the archives just a few minutes ago and typed it in. Guys, it was used as a suicide pledge by students of the academy," he told them.

"Wait, what the fuck?" Smokescreen asked, him and Hoist having a shock look on their face.

"That's not the strangest part. The articles about it had a lot of things redacted, so I wasn't able to get a clear picture of why or who did it aside from the fact that it was students who did it. But, the article did mentioned the author of the poem," he told them.

"Who was it?" Hoist asked.

"Well, it was Dead End," he told them. "Apparently, they took him as a major inspiration and drank acid."

"Are you shitting me?" Smokescreen asked. "This happened during our missing memories?"

"Yeah… it did," Skywarp muttered.

"Damn…," Hoist muttered, cupping his head in his hands. "How many?"

"247," Skywarp told them.

"What?" Smokescreen asked, shocked. "Did you read that right? There's no way we had that many students."

"That's what it said in all the articles," Skywarp told them.

"Damn… so Dead End inspired a mass suicide?" Smokescreen asked.

"Well, that's all that was confirmed. The articles stated that Dead End said he had no relation to the students, but some sources he met up with them. Could be true. Could be false," he told them.

"Shit…," Smokescreen groaned.

"I swear, if he talked them into that mass suicide, I'll kill him myself," Hoist growled, clenching his hand into a fist.

"Yeah… this didn't sit well with me either," Skywarp muttered. "A bit too familiar."

"Okay, so how are we going to use this information?" Smokescreen asked.

"The suicide was likely a symptom of something worse that allowed these game to happened," Hoist muttered.

"Makes sense. Regardless of Dead End's contribution, something had to have happened in order to cause a mass suicide. The question is what?" Smokescreen asked, rubbing his head.

"The only way we'll find that out is through more research," Hoist told them. "We'll have to tell everybody about this tomorrow, including Dead End."

"Especially Dead End," Smokescreen agreed.

"Well, I'm going to turn in for the night," Skywarp told them, getting up. "I'll be in my room if you need anything."

"Thanks for the info. I think I'll follow you out," Smokescreen told him, getting up as well.

"See you two later," Hoist waved them goodbye.

"Bye, Hoist, and…," he paused before he closed the door, "don't blame yourself too much, okay?" He closed the door and Hoist looked at where was before turning his attention back to the Newton's table, still clacking along.

"Don't worry. I won't."

**Chapter 4: I Feel That Pale Death Creeping In (End)**

**Teachers Alive: 22**


	59. Chapter 5: The False World

**Chapter 5: Leave Hope on the Operating Table**

**(Ab)normal Days**

_Day 15_

"This is… strange," Perceptor murmured as him and Wildrider looked up at the night sky. Luna-1 and Luna-2 was in full view and the stars were out. The area they were in was a cybergarden of some sort, except for the center, which appeared to be a racetrack of some sort with a bunch of elevated benches for the audience.

"Does this mean… we made it?!" Wildrider shouted.

"No… it wouldn't be that easy," Perceptor as he looked around and noticed a light running through the ground. "Let's follow this," he ordered as he followed the line, Wildrider right behind him. The two keep moving until they reached what looked like a metal fence connecting the building they exited to the other building that was still locked. On the fence was a box of some sort that the lights led to. The two waked towards the box and opened it, showing off a timer with 4:30 A.M. on it, a dial on it, and a black button.

"Oh, what does this do?" Wildrider asked and immediately turned the dial, much to Perceptor's surprised, as well as the timer moving.

"What are you doing you-" he stopped as him and Wildrider was covered by light and both of them to look up to see the Sun in the air.

"Uh… did I break the sky?" Wildrider asked, confused. "I didn't mean too!"

"It would appear so... although it isn't natural. It's all artificial," he figured out.

"Artificial? How the frag does that work?" Wildrider asked, weirded out.

"The sky is made up of nothing but computer screens. Nothing about it is real," he explained.

"So… we're in a dome made up of computer screens," Wildrider started to realize.

"Correct," Perceptor murmured.

"Oh… that's awesome!" he shouted in approval as he went back to messing with the dial, shifting it between day and night, much to Perceptor consternation.

"Wildrider, quit it," Perceptor ordered, annoyed.

"Why, it's fun! Look. Day." Shift to daytime. "Night." Shift to nighttime. "Day." Shift to daytime. "Nig-"

"Stop!" Perceptor yelled, causing Wildrider to stop at dusk. Wildrider glanced at his clenched fists and seething glare and backed off. Pleased, Preceptor walked on over and examined the box, noting two things were caring about: the dial Wildrider was using and the black button. Intrigued by what the button did, Perceptor pressed the button and the sky shifted back to a night sky with an automatic voice telling him it was set back to real time, the timer reflected that by being 4:31 A.M. "Hmm… interesting."

"Alright, so, that changes the sky in this area, right?" Wildrider asked.

"You would be correct, with the dial for custom settings and the button to turn it back to the exact time right now," Perceptor told him.

"Cool… never heard of stuff like this before," Wildrider noted.

"Before the war started, there was about three of these in existence due to the fact that they are quite expensive, but they were all smaller than this one and they are currently destroyed, from what I heard," Perceptor informed him. "They were call a Virtual Outdoor Facility."

"Oh," the manic said, looking at the sky. "How much would this cost?"

"I don't know exactly. I was never good at prices. Just calculating numbers. You could possibly ask Swindle about it if you're truly interested," Perceptor recommended.

"I might…," Wildrider murmured as he looked around the area. "Want to investigate the race track?"

"Sure, couldn't hurt," Perceptor agreed and the two walked through the cybergarden to the racetrack. The two closely inspected the area. There was the racetrack and spectator seats, with a structure at one end that was a single room that had supports making it one story higher. The racetrack was a regular oval one with grates at the center of one stretch of road and black and white tiles at another, signifying the starting line.

"Huh, looks pretty professional," Wildrider murmured. "We could organize races where I can smoke everyone!"

"We could… but that wouldn't be a favorable way of using our time," Perceptor shot him down.

"Aw… but it would be fun," he complained.

"Life or death situation Wildrider. Another time," he continued to resist.

"Ugh… fine!" he spat, raising his arm in anger and turning away from him. "I'm revoking your friend privilege."

"I don't remember having that," he muttered.

"It's a privilege. You're not supposed to noticed," he angrily shot back.

"Woah, hey, look. No need to get angry," he tried to calm him down, but Wildrider continued to ignore him. Perceptor sighed at having to deal with such a child before speaking again. "Alright, look, if nothing happens in the next few days, I'll try and organize a race." Wildrider perked up and turned his head to look at him.

"You're serious?" he questioned.

"Ughhhhh… yes, although I know I'm going to regret," he said with the sagging of his shoulders.

"Yes!" Wildrider shouted, turning back and giving him a bear hug, knocking the wind out of him.

"Augh! Stop before you break my spinal strut, you overactive cretin!" Perceptor shouted in agony.

"But I love you!"

"Stooooooop!"

* * *

Dead End entered the lunchroom, grabbed a cube of energon, and took a seat at his usual position. Typical, he was the first one up. This was all too familiar. Wildrider not joining him, however, was. He must've been up really late last night. He relaxed in his seat and thought things through. With Nightbeat gone, trials and investigations were bound to run less smoothly, but they proved they could do it without him. His death will probably be nothing serious in the long run, and Mirage equally so, even if he liked his taste in poetry and literature. Shame he had to go get himself killed.

He heard the door opened and turned to see Knock Out walked in, looking especially immaculate today, and his finish shining. "Hello, less beautiful," he said, grabbing a cube and taking a seat.

"Great to see you're your usual self," he muttered, drinking his cube of energon.

"I know. I'm glad to be symmetrical," Knock Out agreed, looking himself over. "So glad."

"Hmm-mmm," Dead End mummed, looking away from him and decided to ignore him. Obviously, he was too happy at being fashionable over anything else. The two waited in mutually agreed silence. Dead End thinking and Knock Out self-admiring. They waited for several minutes until another two enter, this being the normal pair of Bludgeon and Nautilator.

"Hey," Nautilator greeted for the two of them as they got their cubes and took a seat. "How you two doing?"

"Fantastic," Knock Out told them while Dead End only gave a nod.

"Good," Nautilator nodded, looking at Knock Out, while Bludgeon glared at the two of them.

"Death is still with us," Bludgeon growled.

"It's always with us," Dead End brushed him off without even looking at him. "From the day you were created, death is with you until the day you die."

"Hmph… than let me rephrase it. We are still in peril," Bludgeon told him.

"Better," he nodded. "Now, why should I care?"

"Nihilist. I forgot," Bludgeon murmured, glaring at him. "Why do I bother talking survival with you?"

"I'm smart," Dead End muttered. "That's why."

"Not as smart as me," Knock Out bragged, admiring his hands. "Brains and beauty are the two most important aspect one can have and I excel at both."

"Humility is also important," Bludgeon growled at him.

"I speak the facts," he told him.

"Well, you are a doctor… and pretty hot," Nautilator agreed, staring at him, which earned a disapproving glare from Bludgeon.

"My case has been made," Knock Out laughed.

"Erk… you are annoying," Bludgeon growled, giving him the evil optic.

"Annoyingly _right_ ," he continued to brag.

"OK, its official, if I kill someone, it's going to be you," he threatened.

"I may have to join you," Dead End agreed, sounding like he was dying inside at a faster rate.

"Come on… don't be like that," Knock Out said half-heartily, not bothering to look at them.

"Knock Out, what you doing this time to annoy everyone," Ratchet murmured, walking in, getting a cube, and sitting down next to Knock Out.

"They're jealous of my good looks and my smarts," Knock Out told him, actually looking at him.

"So… business as usual," Ratchet muttered, leaning forward.

"I guess," he shrugged.

"How can you tolerate him?" Bludgeon questioned. "I find him intolerable."

"You get used to it," Ratchet told them. "Trust me. Just give it time."

"Ah, it's nice to see someone appreciate me for what I am," Knock Out thanked him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "I knew there was something good about you, despite all those dents and scratches and ugly scruff marks litter your frame," he said, looking him over. "Seriously, let me give you a day with me and I'll have you looking absolutely fabulous… or at least look clean."

"Yeah… I'm good," Ratchet answered. "I don't think I can handle you for a whole day."

"Hmph, I'm not surprised. No one can handle excellence for a whole day," he 'sympathized' with the less beautiful, taking his arm off him.

"Ugh," a voiced moaned and a whole slew of people entered at once, this being the other bar patrons last night. They got a cube and took a seat, each of them holding their heads in sympathy over their hangovers, except for Mixmaster, Scavenger, and Beachcomber, who looked indifferent.

"Wow, most of you look like slag," Nautilator commented as they entered.

"Don't talk, please," Drift moaned in pain.

"Somebody drank too much last night," Knock Out chuckled.

"Bunch of whiners," Mixmaster scoffed. "Me, Scavenger, and Beachcomber aren't even suffering a little bit."

"I can see why you're not affected, along with Beachcomber, as he probably drank so much after's Shockwave tortured, he probably needs twice the amount. I don't get why Scavenger isn't affected by it," Dead End muttered.

"Hook thought it was fun to test his anesthetics out on me," Scavenger told him. "Thought it would be a good way to make sure they were good. I got hazy a lot."

"I think that's abuse," Ratchet murmured, looking at him closely. "I need to check you out later to make sure there isn't any long term side effects."

"I'm fine. I've had this done for over a couple of millions of years and I'm fine," Scavenger tried to calm him down.

"Couple millions of years?!" Ratchet asked.

"No loud noises. Please," Blurr moaned.

"Agreed," Bumblebee chimed in, moaning in pain.

"Shut up!" Ratchet growled menacingly at them, causing the two of them to shrivel away. "Now, tell me Scavenger, have you experience any bad side effects from it?"

"Uh… I don't know," Scavenger asked. "I never looked that up."

"Do you… have memory problems?" Ratchet asked him.

"Um… yeah. Some. I can't remember certain days, certain weeks, the entire time we were in the academy, but that's just a side effect of getting our memory wiped, right?" Scavenger asked.

"It's also a side effect of using too much anesthesia," Ratchet told him with a grimace. "The dulling of pain receptors could lead to the memory banks and dull your ability to recall them."

"Huh… I didn't know that," he muttered, scratching his head. "Hook should've knew that."

"I know he does. That's why when I visit him, I'll be giving him a personal beatdown," Ratchet growled.

"That isn't necessary! That'll do more harm than good," Scavenger told him, the raised voice giving the people with hangovers a more pounding headache.

"Please, be quiet," Jazz ordered. "I'm the highest ranking person here."

"Silence! Chain of command is worthless here," Bludgeon growled at him.

"Scavenger, if you're looking for a reason why you haven't become a doctor yet, Hook is the reason why. I bet he purposely kept you drugged up so you stay his assistant under his thumb," Ratchet explained to him.

"Woah, hey!" Knock Out said, getting in between them. "Now, let's not make any claims without any evidence. All we know is that Hook tested his anesthesia on him."

"Enough for me," he scoffed. "Hook was always a scheming, controlling bastard and still is if he's outside the academy alive."

"Well… I won't lie, that's true, but I don't think he's that much of an aft," Knock Out defended him.

"Eh, he might've been," Mixmaster said. "Wouldn't surprise me if that was the reason he did it."

"But, Hook likes me… right?" Scavenger asked, turning to Mixmaster. "You all like me, right."

"I like you. Don't know about anyone else," he shrugged.

"That's… not the answer I was looking for," he mumbled, tipping his head down.

"Apologies," he said, patting his back.

"Good to see our gestalt isn't the only one having problems," Blast Off said as him and Onslaught entered the lunchroom, grabbed a cube, and took a seat next to each other.

"Oh, hey. The gestalt that keeps complicating things," Nautilator commented.

"Yes, yes, air your grievances out," he told them.

"Blast Off, don't be confrontational," Onslaught ordered, placing a hand on his arm.

"Where's the small one that almost murdered someone?" Knock Out asked.

"In his room," he answered harshly, turning to glare at him. "You might want to learn how to phrase questions better."

"Meh."

"Oh! Oh! I'm sensing violence!" Wildrider shouted as he rushed in and presented himself to everyone with Perceptor trailing behind him. "Don't start without me!"

"Please, don't rush to violence. Someone died last night," Perceptor told him drily, getting two cubes and taking a seat. "Take a seat with me Wildrider and calm down."

"…!" Wildrider grunted before sagging his shoulders and taking a seat next to him, near Dead End.

"My, not many people can tame Wildrider," Dead End noticed, actually sounding surprised.

"I've had some time last night during our exploration of the new area," Perceptor told him.

"Ah, the new area. What is it like?" Dead End asked. "Is it some place intellectual?"

"It's a Virtual Outdoor Facility," Perceptor told him.

"A what?" Nautilator asked, confused.

"It's made to simulate being outside. It's a dome shape building with screens on them to stimulate being outside," Perceptor told everyone.

"Okay… so what is it for?" Dead End asked, confused.

"Most probably, to help botanist, astrologist, and geologists with their studies," Perceptor answered.

"Also, a racetrack," Wildrider answered.

"Woah, woah, wait. Racetrack?" Blurr asked, standing up. "There's a racetrack?"

"What happen to your hangover?" Beachcomber asked.

"Not important. Now what is this about a racetrack?" he repeated, leaning in with his hands on the table.

"There's, a, uh, racetrack in there," Perceptor answered.

"Right, bye," he said, rushing out of the room.

"Wait!" Perceptor said, standing up. "We don't leave until everyone gets here." It was too late as Blurr had already exited the room. Perceptor gave a sigh and sat back down and turned to Wildrider with a glare. "That's why I didn't mentioned the racetrack."

"Sorry," he scoffed. "People usually don't jump for racetracks."

"Why was Blurr running out like a manic," Hound asked as he and Rewind entered the room and grabbed a cube.

"There's a racetrack in the next building along with an artificial forest," Perceptor told him.

"Later," Hound said, stepping out, leaving Rewind awkwardly standing by himself, looking at Hound leaving and at everyone else before exiting out of the room, following Hound.

"What the hell…," Perceptor muttered, placing a hand on his head. "Alright, how many more are going to leave?"

"I have to," Bumblebee told them, getting up and holding a hand to his mouth as he ran out. "I'm going to purge!" He left, leaving the others behind. Not after that, Jazz and Drift followed behind him.

"Damn… they got a serious hangover," Knock Out said.

"I'll create a tonic for them later," Mixmaster said. "Now, who's missing that hasn't arrive, but hasn't left?"

"Swindle, but I'm sure he isn't going to come out for a while, as well as Skywarp, Hoist, and Smokescreen," Onslaught answered.

"You asked for us?" Smokescreen said as him, Hoist, and Skywarp entered the room, the three getting energon and taking a seat together. The three looked around.

"Okay, I doubt we beat everybody here," Skywarp told them.

"That's because Blurr, Hound, and Rewind went to check the new area, Bumblebee, Jazz, and Drift are purging his insides out thanks to his hangover, and Swindle is just staying away from here," Ratchet told them.

"Okay… odd," Hoist muttered before addressing everybody. "We wanted to present this information with everyone around at the same time, but that's not happening."

"Information? What information?" Ratchet asked.

"Mass suicide," Skywarp told them.

"Mass suicide?" Ratchet asked, startled, and everyone's attention turned to them.

"Yes. At this academy," Hoist told them, looking at Skywarp. "We agreed to do this slowly."

"Might as well just go ahead and tell them about it, just like the fact that the whole catalyst of it was Dead End?"

"Skywarp!?

"I did what?" Dead End asked.

"Where did you learn the word catalyst?" Smokescreen asked.

"Not important, although that's a good mystery as well. What was that about me being a catalyst to a mass suicide?" Dead End asked again, leaning in, his voice more threatening now.

"Look, during the time that we are missing, your poem was used as a suicide pledge for a mass suicide carried off by 247 students," he told him.

"That's unlikely. This school is well-funded, but this place wasn't made to hold that many students," Dead End told them.

"That doesn't explain all the reports on the suicide that we found," Smokescreen told him.

"That _I_ found," Skywarp interrupted.

"Whatever, look, a mass suicide happened and you are involved, whether directly or indirectly," Smokescreen told him.

"They're a bit inconsistent. Some say that you're the one who led them and others said that you were just used as justification for doing so," Hoist told them.

"What? That's insane… what poem of mine was used?" Dead End asked, confused.

"I don't know, but one of the lines used in it was 'I feel that pale death creeping in.' Know which one that was?" Skywarp asked.

"Wait, come again?" Dead End asked. "Was that really it?"

"Yeah, it was,"

"That… strange. That's not strictly my poem. It was a collaboration project between me and Sky-Byte fifty years ago. I wrote it and he spoke it out loud. He's a fantastic beat poet," he told them.

"What was it called?" Hoist asked.

"The line that you used. It was repeated throughout the poem."

"Okay," he nodded. "We can track that down and read it easily."

"Yeah, I don't think so. It's was a private event. No videos and I didn't hand an official transcript out to anyone. I made sure no one had any writing utensils and the one I gave to Sky-Byte I took back, broke it, and threw it in a smelter," Dead End explained to them.

"Threw it in a smelter? Isn't that taking it a bit too far?" Beachcomber asked.

"No. It was reasonable. It was to keep things a secret," he told them. "Whoever was the one used that as a pledge had to be a big fan of mine."

"Or it was you yourself," Hoist interjected, which caused him to glare at him.

"A suicide pact means committing suicide. I'm still here, talking down to idiots like you, so I didn't take that pledge," he talked down at him, causing Hoist to flinch. "Simple logic should be enough to determine that."

"Okay… my apologies to you," Hoist nodded. "My bad."

"You damn well better be. I'm a cynic of the highest order, not a cult leader," he ranted to him.

"Okay, okay," Smokescreen butted in. "We apologize. It's all Hoist's fault-"

"My fault!?"

"-But, we are all allies here," Smokescreen said.

"I would say enemies in here," Dead End told him.

"Alright. Let's compromise and say we're frenemies," Smokescreen told him.

"I like frenemies," Nautilator agreed, which earned a look of ire from Dead End before he looked back at Smokescreen.

"…Okay, fine. Everyone is frenemies in this hellish establishment," he acknowledged.

"That'll work," Knock Out agreed, along with everyone else with a simple half-hearted nod of the head.

"Now, this mass suicide. Anything else to tell us, like who was behind it or how they did it?" Dead End asked.

"Uh, no. A lot of it was redacted," Skywarp told him.

"Where did you learn redacted?" Dead End asked in which Skywarp gave a shrug, before he continued. "Alright, maybe you can find more information on it, or figure out why that information was redacted. In fact, why would that information be redacted in the first place?"

"We'll talk to Jazz about that after he's done purging," Ratchet told him. "Secret stuff is his field of expertise."

"Sounds good," Knock Out nodded. "I don't trust spies about as far as I can throw them, but he should be able to help with that."

"Alright. Is there anything else to talk about?" Onslaught asked the room. No one said anything. "Alright, let's go check the new area out."


	60. Chapter 5: Morning Talks

"Ugh, no more high-grade for a while, at least until Mixmaster makes the tonic," Jazz muttered as he washed away the purged contents he spewed onto the sink. He cupped some water and swallow some to get rid of any gunk that might be stuck in his mouth's wires and denta and spit it out. He exited the bathroom into the main room, leaning against the wall for support. He probably should've went easy on the high-grade, but everyone their wanted to forget about the brutal murders of Nightbeat and Mirage and he had to indulge as well. He didn't realize they were drinking far more high-grade than usual… and Monobear personally instituted a new rule to allow people to sleep at the bar, which did more to encourage everybody to drink more.

*Knock Knock*

"Urg…," Jazz muttered as he head on over to the door to open it. He didn't want to talk to anyone, but he was sure whomever it was would keep doing it until he actually answered. He lumbered on over to the door and opened it to see Dead End, Hoist, Smokescreen, and Skywarp waiting at the door. "Yeah?"

"Hey, we need your help involving redacted files," Skywarp told him which earned a confused look from Jazz.

"Did he just say-"

"Yeah, he did," Dead End cut him off. "He, Hoist, and Smokescreen found some files with redacted content in it. We were hoping you could get the contents back." He held up a file and handed it out to him, who grabbed it and looked at it.

"Uh, Dead End, did you-"

"I. Don't. Know. That's why we need you to recover the files," he said, glaring at him.

"Well, I admit to blocking out and censoring some content, but recovering it is a different story, especially since people have started customizing them," he told them.

"So you can't break it?" Smokescreen asked, disappointed.

"I never said that. I might be able to, but it'll be difficult to do so," he told them.

"Do you need anything to help you break it open?" Hoist asked.

"I'll need some encryption breaking devices. If we can't find any here, I'll need you to make some," he told Hoist.

"It'll take a while and I specialized in repairing objects, but I might be able to make one," he answered, rubbing his head uncertainly.

"You don't sound certain," Jazz murmured.

"Repairer, not an inventor, but I can make it work, I think," he answered.

"Very well… I guess that'll work if we don't find some. We could probably find datapads on it in the stores to make some."

"Alright, we got a good idea of what to do. So what shall we do first?" Smokescreen asked.

"I don't know about you, but I'm sleeping for a little bit longer. Bye," Jazz said as he closed the door. He gave a yawn before walking over to the bed and get on it, ready to sleep the morning away.

* * *

"Drift, open the damn door!" Ratchet yelled as he knocked on his door. The group who were talking to Jazz looked over at him before walking off in the opposite direction and three spots to his right, Onslaught and Blast Off were trying to get in Swindle's room. Ratchet waited impatiently, crossing his arm and tapping his feet against the ground. After a few annoying seconds, the door opened, revealing a groggy Drift holding his head.

"You knocked," Drift murmured in pain.

"Did you learn about the values of responsible drinking while purging your systems out," Ratchet muttered as he moved on in without his position.

"Hey, I haven't given you permission to… enter," Drift murmured as Ratchet made his way inside and walked over to the center of the room.

"Were you going to say no?" Ratchet questioned him.

"…No," he admitted and closed the door behind him. "What do you want?"

"Wanted to make sure you were still good. One night of binge drinking could be bad for your systems, particularly your balance coordinators," he told him.

"Whatever…," Drift murmured, shuffling his feet over to his bed and laying on it.

"Also could affect the fuel pump's cycle, making you drowsier, as you are demonstrating fantastically," he informed him.

"Great… now go away," the swordsman said, curling up in bed.

"Come on, Drift, let's not form any bad habits," Ratchet chastised him.

"If you were in my position, you wouldn't be saying that," Drift muttered.

"Yeah, but unlike you, I make smart decisions. Not unhealthy ones," he rebuked.

"Quit lecturing me."

"No."

"Why."

"Well, let's start with the fact that we're in a death place where anyone could kill you and it's bad to start developing bad habits," Ratchet answered.

"Can you let me drink away my misery in peace?" he asked, annoyed. "I'm already getting nightmare about the dead and I don't need you berating me."

"You deserve it for putting yourself in danger," he chastised. "Listen, I'll indulge your new found attraction for alcoholic beverages once we're out of here, but we need to escape first and having you sober is the best wat to prevent that."

"I know… but this place sucks," Drift complained.

"Ugh," the medic groaned before walking over to the table, grabbing a chair, and bringing it over to Drift's bedside before taking a seat on it. "Alright then, I guess I'll play shrink to you while I'm here."

"No… please let me sleep in peace," the hungover bot moaned in pain.

"Yeah… no. You made your choice and you have to live with it," Ratchet told him, relaxing in the chair. "So, these nightmares. Let's talk about them."

* * *

"This is so… nice," Hound said as him and Rewind were walking through the cyberforest. The spinmetal leaves were sprouting out of the ground beautifully and the metal rubber psi-leaves on the solid steel trees were hanging nicely. It really was a wondrous thing.

"It's alright," Rewind interrupted his tranquility, walking behind him and looking around uninterested. He might've been more interested if Chromedome was around, but walking around without Chromedome around and no one talking to him meant that he got to thinking about Chromedome again. Then he got to thinking about Chromedome's death, being impaled by those sharp knives….

"Hey, come look at this flower!" Hound shouted, waving at him to come over. Rewind shook those depressive thoughts off and ran on over to him to examine the flower. It was emerging out of the ground in a gleaning red metal and ending in tulip-shaped petals in purple metal.

"Wow, that's pretty," Rewind said, looking at it with a small smile.

"It's a rare type of copper flower with palladium petals. It would be nice in a vase," he told him, softly rubbing the stem of it.

"Cool…," the archivist said, bringing his hand in and rubbing it as well, watching the flower softly sway against his touch. "How much do you know about plants?"

"Quite a bit. Not as much as actually horticulturists and botanists, but a bit," Hound told him, removing his hand and standing back up with Rewind following him. It's a complicated field, much like's Earth's plants. Yeah, they can both be boil down to the basics. Earth's plants need a healthy amount of water daily and Cybertron's plant required an influx of energon from the ground into the plants, but the details are very complicated."

"So, is it easy for anyone to get into it?"

"Yeah. Just need to make sure to watch over them and develop a schedule to do so. If you can master that, you should be just fine," Hound told him. "If you want, I can give you some pointers. Could be valuable to use once we get out of here."

"That would be nice… if we get out of here," Rewind muttered, looking around.

"Come on, Rewind. Don't be like that," Hound comforted, wrapping his arms around him instinctively." Things look bad, especially with Mirage and Nightbeat's death, but we'll carry on. We'll survive."

"But… what can we do to win? Every time we try to find a way out of this, it always ends up as a dead end and more people just end up dying. How can we succeed when there's no way out?" Rewind asked him.

"I… I don't know," Hound answered honestly, "but we can't just give up as that what the mastermind wants. Do you really want to give the person responsible for Chromedome's death a pass?" Hound asked. Appealing to anger wasn't something Hound liked to do, but with Rewind, it was practically the only thing that could give him a good kick in the aft to actually move on.

"No! Of course not! I want him dead!" Case proven. "It's just… so hard to get out hands around that slippery bastard."

"We'll find a way, somehow," Hound continued to encourage him. "He'll pay for this, but until then," he reached his free hand out and plucked the flower from the ground and handed it to Rewind, who clasped on it and gazed downed at it, a look of surprising elation filling his face, "put this in a vase and stay alive and energetic."

* * *

*Knock knock knock*

"We've been here for thirty minutes. He's not opening," Blast Off told Onslaught as he leaned against the wall, bored. Onslaught turned to glare at him before knocking again, causing Blast Off to sigh painfully at Onslaught's futility. "I see you've adapted Brawl's blind determination. A character trait I would've avoided."

"Better than your constant apathy," he sniped back. "Maybe you can learn how to care."

"I cared fifteen minutes ago. I don't care now," he told him. "Maybe you can translate what the silence is telling you and stop knocking on the damn door."

"We said we would talk with him, so we keep trying until he answers," Onslaught said, determined, and knocked on the door again even harder.

"Ugh," Blast Off scoffed, shaking his head and looking around to see Bumblebee walking out of his room, clutching his head tightly. "Oh, look, here comes a heavy drinker," Blast Off said, turning to Onslaught, who apparently didn't hear him and was still knocking on the door. He scoffed at him and walked on over to the hungover bot, looking for someone to talk down to. "And how are you this morning?"he asked him.

"I feel like I got weights tied to me, bringing me down. I really shouldn't have drunk all of that high-grade," he bemoaned, looking up at the tall figure. "You?"

"Onslaught is trying and absolutely failing at getting Swindle out of his room," the sniper informed him, looking back at Onslaught still knocking on Swindle's door.

"So that's what that noise is," Bumblebee moaned, looking past Blast Off to the commander.

"Open up!" he yelled.

"He's not going to stop, isn't he?"

"Not until Swindle opens that door… which will be never more than likely," Blast Off told him.

"These doors are soundproof, right?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yes, but vibrations still travel through the door and are audible on the other side. The yelling is unnecessary, though. It's doing nothing except get on my nerves," he told him, holding his head in pain. "Silence is a wondrous thing. It's a shame he doesn't realize that."

"Can't you stop him? I'm too tired to do it," Bumblebee told him.

"He's too headstrong to stop, so no," he told him.

"So it all relies on Swindle."

"That or we could just walk somewhere else," Blast Off added.

"That actually sounds like a good idea," the scout agreed. "Let's head on out."

"Let's… wait," he said as he noticed the door finally opening and Swindle popping his head out.

"Swindle. We need to- Gah!" Onslaught yelled as he held his hand onto his pelvic region as he got on his knees.

"No," Swindle simply said as he closed the door and Onslaught collapsed forward, resting against the door.

"Oh…guess I'll have to drag him away from Swindle to somewhere where he is less likely to get his gearbox crushed," Blast Off muttered as he walked on over to him

"Yeah… might be a good idea."

* * *

"Oh, Shockwave's room. Are we here to ransack his personal effects?" Wildrider asked Perceptor as they entered.

"No, we're here for information. AI, are you there?" Perceptor asked.

"Hey. Good to see you make it past the trial. I honestly thought you wouldn't make it for a second there. It was a pretty difficult one and I thought you were going to fail," the AI greeted them, "especially when you specifically kept going after the wrong people."

"Thanks for reminding me," Perceptor grumbled. "Look, you're paying attention, so how about you explain to us the report Hoist and the others found."

"Sure. I can tell you… nothing," the voice said.

"You're kidding, right?" Perceptor complained, clenching his fists.

"I was made after that particular event. Sorry. I only know despair," he told them with what Perceptor was sure was a shrug of unknowing.

"Well… does the mastermind ever talk about it?" Wildrider asked for Perceptor.

"I don't know… but I think might have a name for it you can use for more information," he told them.

"You do? Well, what is it?" Perceptor asked.

"I think it's called… yes, The Tragedy," he told them.

"Well, that's a bland, but succinct name for it," the scientist muttered.

"Why is it called the Tragedy? I mean, a mass suicide is really, really bad, even I must admit, but not enough to give it that name. I could think of several other things worse than that," Wildrider asked him.

"It's probably because all of that was a prequel for the war or during the war. This mass suicide happened during Reconstruction, a moment when we were supposed to bring Cybertron to its former glory," Perceptor guessed.

"Eh, I don't know. Wasn't around," the AI told them. "Kind of wish I was. To see everyone's hope for the future shattered would've been amazing."

"Man, you're a weirdo," Wildrider muttered, earning a strange look from Perceptor, not believing that _Wildrider_ just said that.

"Yes… he is, but he's on our side… I think," Perceptor muttered.

"Eh, I'm neutral. You could all die or become my new master. Just don't tell the mastermind about me being an AI or I'll make sure you'll feel nothing but despair," the AI threaten them.

"Was that a death threat? I think that was a death threat," Wildrider muttered.

"Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't," the AI said nonchalantly. "You got what you want. Have a despairing day." The two bots looked at each other before they exited out of the room.

* * *

"Wow… those two are going really fast," Nautilator muttered as him and Bludgeon sit at the stands watching Blurr and Knock Out driving around the racetrack.

"The two of them were obviously built for speed," Bludgeon acknowledged, looking over the racetrack. "I could never reach that top speed."

"Yeah… you're a tank, right?" he asked, turning to him.

"I thought that would be obvious, but yes I am," he agreed.

"So… you could just run them over, right?" he asked.

"Hmm, probably. They would probably not be very pretty and sleek after I'm done with them," Bludgeon smiled at that.

"Oh… you got that look in your optics," he muttered worryingly.

"What look?" he asked, barely affording a glance in his direction.

"The one everyone in my group has when they're about to attack something or are planning on it," Nautilator told them.

"Humph, unlikely, since I have self-restraint," Bludgeon scoffed. "I admit that I'm a bit headstrong, but I've had a lot of training in patience and I meditate often. I can keep cool under pressure."

"Right… if you say so," the Seacon muttered.

"And what about you? You're not a fighter, but you have some dark thoughts if the first thing you pointed out about my tank alt. mode is that I can crush people, not the fact that I'm heavily protected. You think of violence first and protection second. Quite revealing," Bludgeon reasoned.

"I'm just… really paranoid. Being around the other Seacons, who practically live on violence, and you start thinking more about the potential risk of something instead of other things. I'm sure some of their tendencies have rubbed off of me, although I am really not combat-efficient enough to use it. I can fire a gun semi-accurately and have basic hand-to-hand and bladed weapons skills. I'm not exactly a hardcore, scary aft-kicker like them… or you," Nautilator told him.

"Humph… sound argument," Bludgeon nodded.

"Huh, thanks for the compliment," Nautilator said, looking back at the racetrack.

"How many compliments did you get from your gestalt?"

"Not much."

* * *

"Hey, what are you doing?" Beachcomber asked with a smile as he stumbled upon Mixmaster and Scavenger in the Science Lab.

"Trying to make a tonic for the people's hungover. Scavenger's watching," Mixmaster answered for the both of them.

"Hi," Scavenger waved nervously.

"Hi to you, too. So, how's the tonic going?" Beachcomber asked as he took a seat on one of the stools.

"Well, since I'm not affected by hangovers like many of the others, not well. You and I are both very good with dealing with it, as well as Scavenger and the other science and medical personal," he told him.

"Yeah… we're good at it," Beachcomber acknowledge.

"So… how are you feeling?" Scavenger asked, leaning.

"Uh, fine. Why do you ask?" Beachcomber asked.

"You know… cutting up the wrist is kind of… troubling," he replied very nervous and Beachcomber's smile felled.

"Oh, that," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm… okay-ish"

"Never add -ish to an end of a word. It's stupid," Mixmaster told him as he combined some liquids together.

"Sorry!" Beachcomber said, holding his hands up.

"Relax. I won't throw acid in your face for using stupid suffixes. Monobear would execute me…," he muttered as he finished combining the chemicals. "Now, are you keeping away from sharp blades?"

"Uh, yeah. Of course. It's been less than 24 hours, but I've been doing alright," Beachcomber said.

"Great. Remember to talk to people. That'll help you cope with depression," Mixmaster told him.

"We can talk together. I don't get to talk to many people," Scavenger said while twiddling his fingers.

"Yeah, that'll be fine. I know I haven't been very open when people and that tends to make things work. I really need to talk to people," Beachcomber acknowledged.

"Good to hear. It would be a shame to lose a bright mind to suicide, especially one in Geology, which isn't a very appreciated field," Mixmaster agreed.

"Thanks for that. Not many people respect my field just because it isn't flashy like Chemistry or Physics," Beachcomber thanked him.

"I tried to get in Geology, but I could never fully understand it. Good on you for doing so," Mixmaster said with a nod.

"Rocks are complicated. I like the Cybertronian body. Less complex to me," Scavenger agreed.

"…Thanks. I really like those," Beachcomber smiled at them.


	61. Chapter 5: Suspicious Intentions

At noon, everyone regrouped at the lunchroom, minus Swindle, who was staying in his room. Most of them appear to be in a happier mood, with the only exceptions being the ever gloomy Dead, the ever-gruff Bludgeon, Knock Out, who was fuming over Blurr's bragging, the other two Combaticons, and Jazz, who was still trying to get through his hazy hungover. "So, how was the new area?" Jazz asked as he took a drink of his cube of energon.

"Me and Rewind like it. It's beautiful," Hound told him as Rewind was looking at the flower that he got that he put in a small, yellow vase from the gift shop.

"Me and Knock Out had a fun time with me smoking his aft all over the course," Blurr bragged.

"Pure luck. I felt something wrong in my muffler," Knock Out retorted, indignant.

"Yeah, yeah, you so totally don't completely suck and unable to match my speed," he mocked the doctor.

"I want a rematch!" Knock Out yelled at him.

"Oh, you're so on," Blurr agreed.

"Guys, please shut it," Jazz told them, rubbing his head in pain. "I still haven't got over my headache."

"I'm trying my hardest to make a tonic, but I'm better at making alcoholic beverages," Mixmaster shrugged.

"You need to get on that, stat," Jazz muttered.

"I work at my own pace," Mixmaster told him.

"Make that pace faster," he moaned.

"Primus, I'm processing high-grade faster than you," Bumblebee muttered with a roll of the optics, a small smile on his face.

"Shut it," Jazz ordered.

"Hmph," he muttered. "You really need a sunnier disposition. Maybe a day out in the artificial sun will help."

"It is pretty nice," Nautilator agreed. "After so long be cooped up inside, it was nice to get out in the sun, even it is fake."

"I can attest that he is correct," Bludgeon agreed.

"If Bludgeon enjoys it, it must be amazing to get him to admit that," Beachcomber teased.

"Even I get tired of the indoors. It is quite refreshing," he told them, not letting the scowl off his face.

"Can you like, you know, smile dude?" Beachcomber wondered.

"I rather not," he told him.

"Have you even smile once since we've been here?" Beachcomber asked.

"No."

"Enough!" Onslaught yelled, getting everyone's attention. "Quit chit-chatting about completely meaningless stuff and let's get on to more pressing topics."

"You mean getting out of here, right?" Hoist asked.

"And who it is behind all of this," Skywarp added.

"That goes without saying. Did anyone who explored the new area find anything that could possibly help us?" Onslaught questioned them.

"It's an indoor arena disguised as an outdoor area. I didn't see anything that could possibly help us," Perceptor told him.

"There was a few grates on the racetrack, but it's a shallow one and mostly used for rainfall," Knock Out told him with a shrug.

"The forest looks like a regular forest," Hound told him. "You might be able to combine them to form something."

"Yeah, I don't think you'll find much in the forest," Rewind agreed with him.

"I'm sure the screens are breakable, but everything behind them won't be. These things are expensive for a reason," Perceptor told him.

"You can also control the time in their using a control panel. You can make it day, night, whatever," Wildrider told him. "It's really cool."

"So… nothing," Onslaught growled, frustrated.

"It's a very recreational area," Perceptor defended. "We'll probably won't find any worthwhile information in there."

"Well, at least we got something to enjoy. All of these corridors and objects at all the open places have made it impossible just to drive freely. Great to have a place where I can actually get top speed," Blurr commented.

"I know! Isn't it great!?" Monobear shouted appearing from out of no one and jumping onto the center of the table.

"Of course you show up," Blast Off groaned. "Why is a terrible being like you doing here?"

"I just came to see how all my favorite teachers are doing. You all looked pretty bummed at the trial yesterday, so I just wanted to make sure how you all we doing," Monobear told them, trying to sound sincere, although no one was buying it.

"What, you're not done being a giant pain in everyone's ass?" Blurr asked in annoyance.

"Blurr, shut it. Remember what happened last time?" Hoist reminded him.

"I know… but it's so tempting."

"Well, you have to be good for something. The trials have proven that being smart is not something you're good at," Monobear snarked back at him.

"Ha! Even he knows that you're a moron," Knock Out laughed.

"At least I'm not so vain that it's the only thing I care about and completely doesn't care about everyone dying," Blurr sniped back.

"And you can bite my gloriously shiny, metal aft," he fired back.

"Oh, fight among the pretty ones. I like this," Monobear said, rubbing his paws together.

"Him, pretty? Hah, please, no one can match my magnificence," Knock Out continued to brag.

"At least I'm not empty on the inside," Blurr took a swipe at him.

"Okay, enough!" Onslaught yelled at them, silencing them, before turning to the bear. "What are you doing here?" he questioned him.

"Well, I'm just walking around, checking you out, wondering how you're, when you're going to figure out you have a mole in your ranks, maybe go out for drinks with-"

"What!?" he shouted and everyone else was giving similar shouts with Jazz, Hoist, Blurr and the two Stunticons giving each other looks of frustration. Looks like they were going to have to tackle this a bit early.

"Hey, everyone calm down, now!" Jazz shouted at everyone as he stood up.

"How can we calm down? We got a mole in our ranks," Skywarp shouted at him.

"I know. I've been aware of this for quite some time," Jazz told them, which earned a look of surprise from everyone who didn't know.

"How do you already know?" Onslaught questioned him, leaning in to glare harder at him.

"I learned this from Blurr at the time when the third motive was revealed. His datapad mentioned the mole and gave the candidates for it," Jazz told them.

"So we can limit the mole to six people? Who are they?!" Bludgeon questioned.

"The six people mentioned were Chromedome-"

"What!?" Rewind yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"-Mirage-" Jazz continued, trying to ignore everyone.

"Come again?" Blast Off questioned, leering at him.

"-Nightbeat-"

"Oh, no fragging way is that true," Skywarp immediately said.

"-Perceptor-"

"What did you say?" Perceptor questioned, glaring at him.

"Smokescreen-"

"Oh come on! You think I'm a serial killer and a mole!" Smokescreen predictably complained.

"-and Ratchet," Jazz finished naming them off.

"Wait, what?!" Drift asked, standing up while Ratchet had a shock look on his face. "You're making that up. No way would Ratchet even consider working with this bastard bear."

"Hey, you don't have to be mean," Monobear cooed. "Besides, I can confirm that who he lists as suspects is correct. I got bored of him and the others sidestepping the issue."

"Others? Who else knows and why was I left out!" Drift questioned everyone, glaring at them and putting a hand on his side we he would normally be holding his sword.

"Oh, I'll tell you. It was Jazz, Burr, Hoist, the two Stunticons, and the deceased Counterpunch that all knew of their being a mole, upupupupup," Monobear told them. "You guys are really good at keeping secrets from each other."

"Seriously?" Knock Out scoffed. "You couldn't let me in before I got busy fraternizing with a possible mole?" he asked them before glaring at Ratchet, who noticed.

"Knock Out, do you honestly think I'm a mole?" he asked him, turning his glare at him.

"One out of six chance," Knock Out told him.

"And this is why I didn't tell anyone about this. Look what happening. You're already eyeing each other like potential traitors," Jazz told them.

"Can you blame us?" Bumblebee asked him. "We have to trust each other and how can we do that when of us is a traitor, on top of the possibility that they'll murder us?"

"He has a point. At least I can trust my fellow Decepticons," Mixmaster muttered. "I surprised none of them are possible choices for the mole, but I'm fine with that."

"That is certainly the most odd thing," Dead End acknowledge. "I have no idea why anyone would work with Monobear, especially another Autobot, and I've been mulling this over for quite a while."

"Especially your gestaltmate. I thought he be a suspect for the mole for sure," Blurr told him.

"Hey, I'm shocked too. I'm surprise he would just look me over as a mole to use," Wildrider agreed. "Hey, bear! Why didn't you ask me to help?"

"I did. You said no, slagger," Monobear answered.

"What?!" Wildrider asked, standing up to glare at him. "Why would I, everyone's favorite psychopath, disagree to go along with you? You're speaking scrap!"

"Why are you being insulted by not being such an asshole that you would go along with him to convince people to murder each other?" Beachcomber asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, you're an odd one," Monobear acknowledge. "Thing is, you changed. When that happen, you wouldn't help me with this, and I was pretty sad at that. One could even said I was despairing and then I was loving that again."

"What the… are you insane?! Why would I do that?!" Wildrider asked him, glaring at him, as everyone balked at him calling someone else insane.

"You know, I'm spoiling things. Let's get back to relevant points, that being, someone else is a mole!" he shouted to the room.

"Well, if what's being said is true, than there's like a 50% chance of the mole being dead, so let's just relax," Smokescreen said, leaning in with a bored expression on his face.

"He has a point," Hoist acknowledge. "Three of the six are already dead. Maybe we were lucky and one of them was the mole."

"Do you really think we would be that lucky?" Dead End asked. "Chromedome loved Rewind too much to betray him, Mirage and Hoist formed a certain friendship that I doubt he was willing to do if he was the mole, and Nightbeat straight up saved our lives. I would feel uncomfortable saying any of those three was a mole," he rebuked, crossing his arms.

"Come on, can you just give us this one," Smokescreen asked.

"Coming from a suspect, no. Wouldn't someone who is the mole be wanting us to just completely ignore the problems," he questioned him and Smokescreen grimaced at that and a couple of people were suspicious at that.

"Oh, you felt that burn! You feel it!" Monobear bragged hopping over to Smokescreen and getting next to his face. "You feel that? That burn on you? It must _sting_."

"Back off. I want to push you away, but you might stick a spear in me for that," Smokescreen told him.

"Hey, Smokey, want any ice? Maybe some liquid nitrogen?" he asked him dangerously.

"Not really, you plushy asshole. Now go away," he told him.

"Hmph, you have good patience… or the mole! DUN DUN DUN!" Monobear shouted out.

"Or I just hate people who pontificates on useless bullshit. Now fuck off and get in someone else's face," he told him and Monobear looked flabbergasted.

"Such language! I like it, pupupupup!" he chuckled before hopping off back to the center as Smokescreen glared back at Dead End.

"Look you narcissistic, cynical fatalist, the reason why I'm pointing this out is because there is a 50% chance of the mole already being dead. Simple logic. Besides, you want to talk about making it difficult to think one of those three is the mole, what about us? Ratchet's has been a solid support in the cases as the coroner along with Knock Out, Perceptor is figuring out the background of this place better than anyone else, and I was pretty much the guy _saving_ everyone's asses when Nightbeat went and commit suicide with Mirage's trap, so please realize that all six of us are unlikely moles. Just because the worst case scenario is the mole being among us and still alive, it's not instantly true," he explained to him, sitting up straight, crossing his arms, and smugly smiling at him. Dead End thought it over, thinking it through for a little bit, before answering.

"Good point. It is hard to imagine either one of you six as a mole, considering your relationships or your interactions, but one of you is the mole, if Monobear's word hold true," he agreed, looking over to Monobear. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Oh, come on. Of course I was and you all know how good I am. I got all your dirty secrets correct remember?" he reminded them, which caused Dead End to flinch at that comment. "So, if all of those were correct, I can assure you that the mole thing is all true."

"Well… better keep a close optic on Ratchet, Smokescreen, and Perceptor," Dead End muttered.

"I agree, even if the mole is already dead. We can't afford to have possible traitors alone," Jazz agreed, although he sounded hurt to do so.

"This is ridiculous. No way would Ratchet betray us," Drift complained, crossing his arm. "Bet it was Mirage. He was always so sympathetic to the Decepticons and I know he gave funds to them as well. Who's to say he didn't fund Monobear's-"

"Shut up! No way is Mirage the mole, you got that?" Hoist told him.

"You said that when he killed someone. I wouldn't be surprised-"

"Do be quiet. You're ideas are nonsense," Blast Off interrupted, annoying Drift and surprising Hoist.

"Why do you said that? Mirage was-"

"Insecure. Tricking him to give funds by making him think we'll be friends. He always bought friends, never made them. He wanted to belong and he had the funds to stay in some minor circles, but never the big ones like I was. Lying to him about being his friend was easy. He just throw money and hopes it sticks," he told him.

"What's your point?" Drift asked.

"He always wanted his friends to past reforms to help society. He was an idealist. It made him easy to manipulate. From knowing him a significant portion of my life, I can confirm that he had a big spark and always believed in doing the right thing. He may have done some immoral things, but everyone does and I know he was too good a person to have done it. Ironic that I believe in the good of a person over you," he remarked, which caused Drift to grimace at the sniper.

"Look, he said that an Autobot was a mole. I'm just pointing out the most likely one," he told him.

"And I'm telling you he's one of the least likely. If we're looking for moles, I can't think of anyone better than Perceptor," Blast Off told him.

"Oh, really?" Perceptor asked, glaring at him. "Any reason why, or are they just baseless claims?"

"What have you done?" Blast Off asked. "All you done is chase after leads that have gone nowhere and you have a tendency to interfere at trials more than help," he told him.

"That's it? Inaction? Last I check, a mole has to actively damage the group somehow," Perceptor told him.

"Who do you care for? What do you have to live for? Your studies that this game would be invaluable for?" he questioned him.

"What are you talking about?" Perceptor asked.

"Have you been watching everyone, taking notes about how they act? Did you get bored and decided to join in to see what it was like?" he questioned him.

"Oh, now that's absurd, coming from some disgraceful ex-senator who actively screwed everyone over to save himself," Perceptor sneered.

"Shut up. Both of you! Don't you see that's what this asshole wants?" Jazz asked, glaring at the monochromatic bear. "Is this your motive, you psychopath?"

"Hah! As if! I have something a little more… destructive plan for your motive, but that will come later. We need to wait a little bit with every trial," Monobear told him.

"Then what's the point" Nautilator asked.

"I was _bored_. Ugh, I sent this information to cause chaos and despair, not limiting it to a few people and not telling everyone. It had to come out sometime, and if they weren't going to, I was," he said, sounding gleeful.

"So you want to expedite the process," Dead End said.

"Basically, yeah," Monobear shrugged. "But remember, this isn't a motive and if you're planing to kill someone, I recommend waiting until that comes. Trust me, you'll want to hold it off until then."

"What are you planning?" Perceptor asked.

"I'm planning some awesomely despairing stuff," he answered simply.

"That's not very descriptive."

"So?"

"Vagueness is not something I appreciate," he told him.

"Huh-huh, yeah, whatever. Don't care," he said as he walked off. "I'm heading out. See you slaggers later," he told them as he jumped off the table and out the doorway. The group glared at where Monobear was before looking at each other, in particular, everyone was switching their view from the three potential moles.

"So… how are we going to deal with you three?" Dead End questioned, wondering what to do.

"Well, we're going to have to put a leash on them, for starters," Onslaught said. "Drift, I trust you'll stay by Ratchet's side."

"Of course I will. I know he didn't do anything wrong and he's my friend," he told them.

"Right, now for the other two, who'll take them?" he asked them.

"I'll take Smokescreen. We have good chemistry," Hoist answered.

"And Perceptor?"

"I think I'll take care of it," Mixmaster replied. "I'll make sure he doesn't run off by himself to some place strange."

"Good. Now, I believe we're done here."


	62. Chapter 5: Thinking Of Ideas

"Are they fragging kidding me?!" Drift ranted as he walked back and forth in his room's kitchen with Ratchet sitting at a table, watching him with a grimace on his face. "I mean, how could anybody ever suspect you of being the mole?"

"Because of Monobear listing me as a possible suspect. What else?" Ratchet sneered.

"That isn't a very good reason. We need solid, verifiable evidence that you're a mole," he continued to rant.

"Like a list that is pretty accurate at describing everyone's secret am I right?" the medic asked.

"Hey, you can't trust those, right?" Drift asked him, looking at him and resting his arms on the counter.

"You're telling me that he got your secret wrong?" Ratchet questioned him, leaving him surprised before answering.

"No, he didn't. But it's ridiculous to think that you specifically can be a mole. I mean, heh heh heh, it's so damn stupid," Drift chuckled.

"Someone on that list is a mole. It's not me, but it has to be one of the others," he told him. "Have no idea which it is, though. It's confusing which it is. If this was before the last trial, I would've hedge my bets on Smokescreen, but he picked up the slack on the fourth trial. Now, I'm unsure of who it could actually be."

"Look, Smokescreen may have save us, but I'm sure it was just out of self-preservation. I'm sure Monobear would just execute him if he someone else succeeds at a murder. He did it to save himself and get acclaim from everyone for saving their lives," the swordsman said, thinking it through. "It has to be him that's the mole. He's the most Decepticon like, so it's obvious."

"We need more than what their personal morals are like to figure out if they're the mole. We need solid motivations and evidence of him being a mole," Ratchet told him.

"No we don't. Smokescreen's only friend when he entered was Swindle, who I'm sure he would backstab at a moment's hesitation, and he appears to be getting something going with Hoist, although I'm sure that's just so he doesn't come across as a completely selfish gambling addict," Drift continued to smear Smokescreen's reputation.

"Once again, got any evidence?" he questioned him.

"Of course not, but come on? You really think Chromedome or Nightbeat did it? Or Mirage? Even Perceptor? No, it has to be him," he continued to push it on him.

"Drift, no one wanted to think Chromedome was capable of killing Counterpunch, but that still happened," he pointed out, making Drift flinched. "It would be very easy to pin it all on Smokescreen, but we can't simply do that. We have to find actual evidence and follow it."

"I know, but your good name is being ruined right now by this damn thing. You saw the looks some of them gave you. They were afraid of you! They don't trust you!" Drift ranted at him.

"I am capable of using my optics, Drift," Ratchet chastised. "I'm not worried about it. Once we find the evidence we need, they'll stop. Just have faith in them."

"You expect to me to have faith in people who could murder me at any second. Yeah, right," Drift scoffed. "These people are so untrustworthy that I can't even trust my fellow Autobots won't stab me in the back."

"You've never had that feeling before?" Ratchet asked, shocked. "I'm a life-long Autobot, but I be lying if I say that I could trust every single one of them. Some of the Autobots have sketchy backgrounds, Smokescreen being one of them."

"They're still better than the Decepticons," Drift muttered with disdain.

"Oh my Primus, I've never heard anyone badmouth the Decepticons more than you," Ratchet said, getting up. "I get it, you were one of them. You had your fair share of war crimes under your belt, like a lot of them, but that doesn't mean they're all completely irredeemable. They've proven that recently with Reconstruction."

"And what of the others that we put in the prisons?" he pointed out.

"They're irredeemable psychopaths. What do you expect?"

"That doesn't explain why Wildrider is walking around."

"Unfortunately, that was because of a deal we made. He was allow to walk around, but he had to be heavily supervised," Ratchet told him.

"Oh, seriously? You're kidding me? That's bullshit," Drift bemoaned, shaking his head.

"Not everything's perfect, although he appeared to have some sort of epiphany while we were here, if Monobear is to be trusted," he reminded him. "Guess even he was capable of change before Monobear ruined it."

"Yeah, maybe… but probably not," Drift scoffed.

"Maybe…."

"Say," Drift said as he walked on over and took a seat net to Ratchet, "what do you think it was like, the two of us teaching these students to succeed in the future?"

Ratchet frown and thought about it. "I have no idea. Judging by the news clippings, we did pretty good, but there's evidence that things were far from perfect here in the inner workings. It could go either way," he answered in a depressed tone. "I think it might be best if we never know."

"Maybe, but I want to know. I need to know if we made a difference, for better or for worse," Drift gave his opinion.

"Some things are better not known."

* * *

"One more look around the archives. Great," Smokescreen muttered as him and Hoist went to work at the corner together and began looking through the computer banks with the search engine. "I swear, this thing is so big, it's impossible to find specifically one fragging thing."

"It is quite ginormous," Hoist agreed before giving a sigh. "Mirage would be much better at this. He was good at espionage."

"Well, we can't get his help right now, as much as we want to," Smokescreen said, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"I'm fine. Trust me. I'm not that emotional," Hoist chided, brushing his hand off. "It just takes me a day to process it."

"Alright, alright, sorry. I never saw you act so emotional before," Smokescreen said.

"I try not to get attached to anyone. I just don't want to be alone. Doesn't mean I have to get attach to people," he told him.

"Huh, I like that. Part of how I work," Smokescreen agreed.

"Alright… say, you think we could just hang out for a little bit? You know, get to know each other?" Hoist asked him.

"Ha ha, no," he bluntly replied.

"What? Why?" he asked him. "Is it because afraid you're of me dying?"

"Among a few others," Smokescreen told him. "Nothing personal."

"Right, I understand," Hoist grumbled, disappointed.

"Hey, don't be like that. We can still be acquaintances," Smokescreen nudged him with his elbow as he looked back at the screen.

"I have too many of those," Hoist complained. "I need to make some actual friends."

"I feel you, but you might want to wait until we actual get out of here. Too much of a chance of people graphically dying," he warned with a smile.

"You don't have to sound so excited," he said, a bit disturbed.

"What? Got a problem with me accurately describing the situation?" he asked, turning to look at him.

"I just figure you would have more respect for the dead and the situation at hand," Hoist muttered.

"I'm sorry, several million years of war have left me a bit apathetic to people dying," he sarcastically apologized.

"Point taken," he reluctantly agreed.

"Good of you to recognize that," Smokescreen nodded as he looked at a specific article. "Ah, now look at that." Hoist peeked over to look at an article titled 'Hope's Peak Academy Second Year Goes Great.'

"Huh, we actually made it past the second year?" Hoist asked in disbelief.

"Looks like it. Not bad," Smokescreen chuckled as he glanced at the article.

"I wonder how it lasted before everything went to scrap," Hoist muttered.

"More than two, but probably less than five," Smokescreen guessed.

"Yeah, makes sense," he agreed, nodding along as he typed something into the search bar. They were quiet for a couple of minutes before Smokescreen spoke up again.

"Huh, wait a minute? What the frag?" he gasped, looking at it closely.

"What's wrong?" Hoist asked him.

"According to this thing, there's sixty teachers in the school," Smokescreen told him.

"What?!" Hoist yelled as he looked at the computer with him to see him tell the truth. "How the frag is that possible?"

"Maybe they hired more as time went on," Smokescreen guessed.

"I guess so," he nodded. "It's the only thing that makes sense, but if that's true, where are they?"

"Now that is a question, isn't it?" he asked as he analyzed the story more closely as Hoist went back to looking at his screen. "The damn thing isn't naming any names. I'm going to have to search other articles for them. Got to be one about new teachers."

"Great, get on it while I look for something else," Hoist told him as he went to work searching through his database. After a few minutes, Smokescreen spoke up again. "Hey, got a couple of names."

"Who?" Hoist asked, looking at the screen.

"Crosshairs, Ultimate Paratrooper; Ambulon, Ultimate Ward Care Director; and Rung, Ultimate Therapist," Smokescreen told him.

"Huh, only three. Can't find any more?" Hoist asked him.

"Nah, the article only lists them as new recruits to the facility," he told him. "Said they were the three newest teachers after the first anniversary with more in the coming days."

"Newest, huh?" he wondered, thinking it through. "Guess they gradually added new teachers to the school over time."

"Guess that makes sense. Best to add them a few at a time instead of all at once," Smokescreen agreed.

"Right… I found something as well. Want to look at it?" Hoist asked him, giving him a hopeful look.

"Sure thing. What did you find?" he asked as he peaked on over to the computer screen to see what it was. His curious look gave way to confusion as he looked at a picture of him and Hoist together, smiling at a camera. Smokescreen's smile was very cocky with his arm around neck while Hoist giving a nervous one, awkwardly giving a wave with his hand. "What the frag is this?"

"It's a picture of us I found, being friends," Hoist old him, sounding a bit hurt. "We became friends here. I don't know how, but we did, so can't we be more than acquaintances?" Smokescreen looked back up at him before looking back at the picture.

"Right… no," Smokescreen bluntly answered before turning back to the screen.

"What, but-"

"Look, I know what you're doing. With Mirage dead, you're latching onto whatever replacement you can find. You're setting yourself up for a cycle of mourning and I want no part in that. Get yourself a different person to replace Mirage," Smokescreen shot him down. Hoist looked at him, shocked, before turning back to his screen. Smokescreen glared at him before turning back to the computer. Smokescreen looked through the computer again for a little bit before speaking again. "Sorry. I don't have friends. I have acquaintances, partners, and allies. It's nothing personal," he apologized.

"It's… it's okay. I'm okay. Nothing wrong with that," he said, his voice breaking slightly.

"Hey, don't be like that, you got it? You're making me feel bad, you asshole," he chided him.

"Sorry, just that… you're right. I shouldn't just get close to whoever I can, but I don't want to be alone," Hoist told him. Smokescreen sighed in annoyance before he wrapped his arm around him and spoke again.

"Look, fine, we'll hang out some. Swap some stories or whatever, just please stop looking depressed, okay," he requested, trying to calm him down.

"You will?" he asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, I will, but just so you know, this is going to end badly," he warned.

"I guessing it will too, but since it's possible we will all die, it's best to make it happen instead of wondering what could've happen when we die," Hoist agreed.

"Alright, good to here. We're in dangerous times and I'm a dangerous person, so keep your optics on."

* * *

"Another search through the archives all done. I wonder what Hoist and Smokescreen found?" Mixmaster asked Perceptor as they walked back up to the fourth floor with Scavenger and Beachcomber walking behind them.

"It's unknown, but it's certainly interesting," Perceptor acknowledged as they walked down the hall together. "Always a good thing when people find information about our current situation."

"You think it'll actually help us out in the long run?" Beachcomber asked skeptically.

"I don't know. Probably not, but I'm hoping for the best," he answered.

"I really hope so. I want to get out of here. I really do," Scavenger mumbled, rubbing his hands together nervously.

"Calm down, Scavenger. We'll be out, soon enough. I promise you," Mixmaster soothed him.

"I hope you're right."

"If we do, we need to get out before he gets that fifth motive working. Once that's on, it's only a matter of time before someone starts getting all stabby again," Beachcomber reminded them.

"True. I wonder what he has cooking up," Mixmaster muttered.

"A lot, especially since he tried throwing me under the bus with his mole claims," Perceptor muttered in disgust. "Can't believe he would make claims that I'm the mole."

"Well, on a surface level, it does make sense, kind of," Beachcomber muttered,

"Come again?" Perceptor asked, turning to him.

"Well, these whole thing is basically a lethal psychology experiment. I mean, it sounds like something a scientist would do, especially one as varied as you," he explained.

"Hmm, that does make sense," he acknowledged, turning back to a door and opening it, letting them inside a lab. "Of course, unlike a few other scientists I know of, I have a set of standards that would prevent me from doing it. Besides, even if what you said was true, why would I even be involve myself in the games themselves? That would involve me endangering my life."

"Yeah, but hands-on experience could be invaluable to your research. You would know what it's like to be a part of the games. If you're the mole, you would know of the previous games and make notes. The last one you need is personal experience in the games themselves, the final segment of your thesis," he continued to explain the potential of Perceptor being the mole.

"It's disturbing how well you're thought this through," Perceptor said, uncomfortable about him.

"Dude, you're not the only scientist here, even if mine's more specific," Beachcomber reminded him.

"True. I often forget that with you myriad of complications," Perceptor acknowledged, leaning with his back to a table, looking around. Beachcomber sat on a stool, Mixmaster sat on the table, and Scavenger just walked around one of the tables. "You know, we're four of the smartest people on the IQ scale. Why don't we generate ideas on who the mole is, besides me, as Beachcomber has already given out a few reasons as for why I could be the mole," he requested of them.

"Uh, surely you're mistaken. I'm not that smart," Scavenger said.

"Quit undervaluing yourself Scavenger and offer idea. This could be a nice brainteaser," Mixmaster told him.

"Alright, uh, what about Nightbeat?" he asked them.

"What about him?" Perceptor asked. "He doesn't appear to have a strong motive."

"Well, what if he was testing himself?" Scavenger asked. "Maybe he wanted to see if he could solve murders here as well commit one."

"Hmm, not a bad suggestion," Perceptor acknowledge. "A lot like Beachcomber said about me."

"That leaves the question of why he murdered Mirage when he did. It was sudden and unexpected. He didn't plan it out," Mixmaster immediately pointed out flaws.

"But then how did he figure out the trap? It seems likely he was informed by someone," Scavenger said.

"Then why did he willingly die by it?"

"Maybe he was afraid of us figuring it out and decided to be the author of his own fate. Die by his own terms."

"Nightbeat is a walking contradiction in actions," Perceptor said, interrupting them. "We'll probably have to figure that out through notes he might've left behind, wherever they are."

"Well then, how about the person he killed, Mirage?" Beachcomber asked. "Guy was a pro at espionage. Makes sense that he would be the mole in our ranks. He was even planning a murder before the motive was even revealed."

"Then why did he get attached to Hoist?" Mixmaster questioned. "If he was the mole, he wouldn't get attach to anyone here."

"I don't know, but he sure seemed willing to let us all die to let Hoist live," he pointed out. "If he was the mole, he probably knew about the motive and would do that to get him out."

"Alright, fair point," Mixmaster acknowledged. "There's Chromedome."

"As long as Rewind is here, I don't see him being the mole," Beachcomber immediately answered.

"Plus he lacks a definitive motive," Perceptor said.

"So no to him, right?" Scavenger asked.

"We can't said no, but it's highly unlikely, even though he killed Counterpunch. Since we're at an impasse, let's talk about the living. About Smokescreen, I'm ultimately ambivalent on him," Perceptor said. "On the one hand, he's a lying cheat who probably has a few skeletons in his closet, but just like Nightbeat, he saved us in the last trial."

"I'm unsure of what to make of him either. He's could go either way," Beachcomber agreed. "Does anyone here think it could be Ratchet?"

"I highly doubt it," Perceptor gave his opinion. "One of the most loyal Autobots and he helps around with the cases."

"But couldn't everything he does be fulfilled by Knock Out?" Scavenger asked. "Why have him here when Knock Out could just do what he could."

"Probably because Ratchet's better," Mixmaster butted in. "Knock Out is good, but Ratchet is excellent."

"If that's true, then wouldn't it be better to just leave him out to have less reliable results?" he asked him.

"Maybe, or he wants a fair fight," Beachcomber chimed in.

"Possibly, so that leaves me, which you have already pointed out," Perceptor clarified.

"Okay, so, who's the most likely to be the mole?" Perceptor questioned them.

"Honestly… you are," Scavenger told him honestly, rubbing his hands nervously.

"Yeah, you're kinda fishy," Beachcober parroted.

"Agree. You or Mirage are my top picks," Mixmaster agreed. Perceptor glared at the three them, feeling betrayed, before nodding head.

"Fine. I'm the most likely wrong mole. You're completely wrong, but it's understandable. Nothing personal."

* * *

"I mean, he was kidding right," Wildrider said as he down a glass of high-grade before slamming it on the table. The two of them were relaxing at the bar in the mall. "I mean, why would I care about slagging brats and teach them how to bring 'hope' to the *hic* future. Completely stupid," he ranted as he leaned against his seat. Dead End sat in his chair calmly, letting him rant while reading a poem. "I mean *hic* did I really changed that much? Why?!"

"I swear, of all the things giving you a breakdown, it's that? That is completely asinine," Dead End chastised.

"Deady, you have to understand, this is _me_ we're talking about. _ME_!" he yelled at him.

"Cease yelling, it's not nice," he continued to chastise him.

"Deady… I shouldn't feel like this," he slurred as he cuddle up in the chair. "I… need to sleep on it. Wake me up later…," he moaned as he went to recharge, much to Dead End's amusement. Yet, he was worried. Wildrider was acting relatively sane. With this news from Monobear, however, that might change. He would have to keep close watch on him.

"He seems unstable," he heard a voice said and turned to Skywarp sitting at the bar, a glass of energon in his hand and Laserbeak sipping some out of a bowl.

"He always is," Dead End replied dispassionately.

"I mean more so than usual," he clarified.

"That is quite true, I must admit," he said, getting up and taking seat next to them with Laserbeak in-between them. The bartender walked up to him.

"Want anything, sir? It's all on the house," he asked him.

"I'll take what he's having," he answered.

"Right away," he agreed, getting a glass under the table and putting it under the energon dispenser. He filled it up to the top before taking it over to him with spilling a drop. "Here you go, for you," he said, placing it in front of Dead End.

"Thank you. You're quite courteous," Dead End nodded as he grabbed it and took a gulp. "Hmm, quite nice," he said as he put it down.

"Thank you, sir," he nodded as he waited for them to require him again.

"So, Skywarp, what are you doing today?" Dead End asked as he turned to him.

"Just hanging out with Laserbeak," Skywarp said as he petted him. "Since this is the only day of rest we're probably going to get, I figure me and him take the day to relax and not worry about people killing us."

"Sensible," he nodded. "Relaxing is something one has to do in order to keep from going insane."

"Duh," Skywarp mocked as he took a drink from his glass. "I really need it, especially with all this talk of a mole and the serial killer. Things are getting crazy."

"True," Dead End agreed as he took another sip.

"Ah… I wonder what that next motive us," Skywarp questioned to himself.

"We'll find out soon enough. Just wait a little longer."

* * *

"Swindle didn't come for dinner," Onslaught muttered to Blast Off as they sat at the lunchroom table. The two of them were left behind except for the familiar pair of Rewind and Hound as well as Bludgeon and Nautilator and the only loner, Bumblebee.

"He'll probably come out in the middle of the night for supplies. Makes sense if he wants to avoid the two of you," Bludgeon told them.

"Noted," Blast Off muttered.

"You guys may want to wait out here for him. You know, wait here and confront him about it," Rewind recommended.

"No, he would probably overreact like he was in a bad deal," Blast Off answered.

"Well, knocking won't worked, as evidenced by Onslaught's dented gearbox," Bumblebee said.

"Thanks for reminding me," Onslaught grumbled. "Really needed a reminder."

"Well, then what can you do?" Rewind questioned him.

"You can try outlasting him, I guess. He can't stay in there forever," Nautilator recommended.

"He probably has some stockpiled up there. He can wait," Blast Off rebuked,

"Then… how about the motive? We all have to appear for that. You can meet him then," Hound recommended.

"That… could work," Blast Off agreed, thinking it through. "Yes, I do believe that will work marvelously."

"Alright, when the motive comes, we'll confront him," Onslaught nodded.

* * *

"Hmm, this place is beautiful at night," Knock Out said he was laying down on the roof of the two-story building overlooking the racetrack. He found a hatch on the second floor and climbed up on top of it. The fake sky was filled with stars as well as Luna-1 and Luna-2 over him.

"It is quite nice," Blurr said, sitting on the edge of the building, much to his annoyance. Blurr was out there as well and he was bugging him as they were exploring the building. "A good reminder of what the end lies in store for us."

"Hmm, it's almost as pretty as me," Knock Out complimented.

"Always about you… although that must be a pretty high compliment, coming from you," Blurr said.

"It is, very much so," he agreed. "It gives me hope."


	63. Chapter 5: Missing One

_Day 16_

"Surprise to see you here first," Onslaught said to Blast Off as he entered the lunchroom after waking up 7 on the dot. Blast Off was sitting at the table with his elbows on it and his hands clasped together. Blast Off looked at him with a raised eyebrow before looking down at his cube of energon. Onslaught was a bristled by Blast Off barely acknowledging him before getting a cube and sitting across from Blast Off, trying to get him to talk. "So, how are you doing?" Blast Off glanced up before taking a drink from his cube and speaking up.

"Do you feel it?" Blast Off asked, confusing him.

"Feel what?" he questioned, bewildered.

"I don't know, something tugging at my spark. Something strange, yet familiar," he spilled out. Onslaught was confused by it before he tried to concentrate on it. Indeed, he felt something off. Something pulling at his spark. It felt like… it felt like…

"It feels like what happen when Vortex and Brawl died, except severally weaker," Onslaught pointed out.

"Yes… exactly. Now why is that?" Blast Off questioned.

"Could Swindle be, you know… dead?" he questioned in fear.

"No, I imagine we would have a much harsher reaction to it if that was what happen. It has to be something else, but what is it?" Blast Off wondered to himself.

"Oh, hey, how you two doing?" Bumblebee asked them as he walked in, grabbed a cube, and took a seat with them next to Blast Off.

"At unease. We don't know why, but something is wrong," Onslaught told him.

"Like what? Is it a gestalt thing?" he wondered.

"It appears to be so," Blast Off nodded. "It's a very strange feeling."

"So… what is it? Does it involve Swindle?" he inquired.

"More than likely, although we don't know what."

"You think he might be-"

"We would've felt it by now if he was dead," Onslaught anticipated his question with an answer.

"Oh, good. Guess you'll talk to him at the motive if all goes well, correct?" Bumblebee questioned, wanting to make sure if the plan was still in place.

"Hopefully. I fear for his sanity if he stays in there for too long," he told him.

"Even though locking himself in there is the safest place if you want to avoid murder," Blast Off muttered.

"True, but Swindle is far too extroverted to stay in their forever. He'll have to talk to someone sooner or later," Onslaught countered him.

"That's also true," he nodded.

"So… I' guessing he considers you two complete assholes for trying to kill everyone here, including _me_ ," Bumblebee said, adding emphasize to the last word, eliciting a sigh from the both of them.

"Yes. Apparently, Brawl and Vortex's death have brought a major change to his attitude and I don't like it," Blast Off confirmed. "The old Swindle wouldn't exactly be happy with our decision but he could respect it. Now, he's so team-oriented and actually wants to get everyone out, not just us."

"Shouldn't that be a good thing? Positive character development is something people should strive for," he asked.

"Forgive him. Blast Off isn't one for change," Onslaught told him.

"I must admit, my unwillingness to change is a very negative trait of mine, but can you blame me? I was a senator," he explained.

"Instability brought the senate down," Onslaught stated.

"I don't know much about the senate. War-born," Bumblebee shrugged.

"War-born? How truly sad," Blast Off muttered. "To be created in turmoil. Not knowing what peace is."

"Yeah. Reconstruction was the first time I ever experience peace. It was kinda nice while it lasted, even though I knew it wasn't going to last long," he told them, sounding morose.

"How surprisingly cynical," Onslaught murmured.

"What do you expect?"

"You always seem more cheerful then that."

"If war is the only thing you know, you expect the worse, which is unfortunately what happened," he replied scratching the back of his head. "I wish I could find peace for once."

"We all do, but life has a habit of screwing you over," Onslaught told him.

"Yeah, I know, but still, it would be nice. Frag, I was asked to come here because I'm a scout. In case you don't notice, that's a purely military thing. What use does a scout have outside of war?" Bumblebee questioned them. "A tactician and a sniper can get jobs for police forces and the like while the scout can do nothing." He laid his head down on the table, depressed. "Nothing at all." Onslaught and Blast Off looked at each other as they realize Bumblebee was young and he had a few self-esteem issues to work out. Just _fantastic_.

"Look, scout may be one of the more specific skill sets one may have, but that doesn't mean you're useless in a peaceful world," Onslaught began comforting him.

"Of course. You're just not thinking hard enough of someone of your capabilities to do in a peaceful world. Just think it over," Blast Off offered encouragement.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Well, scouts are good at exploring unknown territory. Maybe you could be a guide for some of the more wild places of Cybertron," Blast Off recommended.

"Hey, yeah, that would be brilliant. I know of a couple of Decepticons we employed as scouts who are working as guides right now. I'm sure you can find work there," Onslaught told him.

"You think?" Bumblebee asked, lifting his head up in interest.

"Yeah, sure, provided we find a way out of here in the first place. They're not exactly the same thing, but I'll sure it'll require minimal adaption on your part," Onslaught told him.

"Huh, that so," he perked up, excited.

"Of course. I'm sure someone of your caliber could do it. Certainly far better than me. Not a people person, per say.

"That's an understatement," Onslaught chuckled.

"Hmph," Blast Off fluttered. "I didn't need confirmation on that one."

"Right, of course you didn't," Bumblebee snickered, making him glare at him.

"Don't talk too much. You might force me to use my hand to silence you," Blast Off threaten in a light tone.

"Oh, come on, you are so antisocial," Bumblebee chuckled, making him glare at him more.

"Onslaught, breaking the Nonaggression Act," Blast Off announced.

"Understood, soldier," Onslaught nodded.

"Uh, what?" Bumblebee gasped as Blast Off wrapped his arm around his head, over his mouth, and pulled him toward him with the other arm around his shoulders, giving his arms limited movement.

"You know living with Brawl means I had ample amounts of time to learn a thing or two from him, don't you?" he asked as Bumblebee struggled, kicking his legs everywhere. "Relax, I just want you to talk less or at least about something besides me."

"Hmm!" Bumblebee yelled through his arms as he continued to struggle.

"Seriously, I can hold this position for a while until you calm down."

"Hmm!"

* * *

"7:30. You think we should head down now?" Ratchet asked Drift, looking at the time on the table with his electroID while the latter sitting at the bed.

"If you want. I just want to make sure you're okay. I don't want you to go out and face accusations of being a mole," Drift said, scratching his neck cords.

"Drift, I'm old and this wasn't the first mole investigation I've been in. There's always traitors and some investigators like Nightbeat would keep eyes on me to make sure I wouldn't divulge information to the enemy, like medical files. Those are meant to stay private," he responded to him.

"That seems… excessive," Drift murmured.

"Could never be too careful. Some people are good at faking at being your friend, at being on your side, until they inevitably stab you in a back. I learn that with Pharma, that complete and utter bastard," Ratchet cursed.

"I never met him. Frankly, pretty glad I never did," Drift murmured.

"He wasn't unpleasant to be around, but his betrayal was ever painful. I wanted him to take my place when I got too old and my joints rusted. Instead, Pharma's in jail, probably for life, and I'm still working without a successor. I've lived for so long, I know I will start to fall apart very soon. I just wish I can take a break, but I can't," he moaned, leaning against his table. Drift got up and hurried on over to him, attempting to place an arm around him only to be met with Ratchet pushing him off. "Don't, Drift. I'm fine. You think I haven't been able to compose myself in the years?" he chastised Drift, glaring at him.

"Sorry, Ratchet. It's just that, you didn't look okay. I figured-"

"Drift, please, if anyone needs help, it's you. I've gotten through and accepted all the bad things that happen to me, baring my unfortunate need to help people, but you… you've gotten through it but not accepted it," Ratchet told him.

"What, I mean, come on, not accepted it? What do you mean?" Drift asked, insulted.

"Do I really have to point it out? Even you should know what it is," Ratchet said, annoyed by his thick-headedness.

"Not really. I escape from the Decepticon, I got rid of that existence, found religion, I can't of anything else I need to do," Drift listed the things, not knowing what he was talking about. Ratchet gritted his teeth at his inability to understand himself before answering.

"Drift, I'm talking about your time as a Decepticon," Ratchet bluntly answered.

"Huh?" he gasped. "Look, I have exorcised that part of me-"

"No, you moron, you haven't," Ratchet growled. "You think you have, but I know you haven't. If you did, you wouldn't be so against them as you are. You are always against everything that a decepticon does, even when it's a good idea. If you had accepted it, you would be able to accept the positives and negatives of the group instead of completely disparaging it at every single step of the way," Ratchet tore his claim down, making him drop his jaw in disbelief at Ratchet ripping him apart. Ratchet glared at him before softening and looking down at the table. "I'm sorry," he said simply. Drift kept looking at him before looking off to the bed and taking a seat back on the bed. He was wringing his hands together and was intaking rapidly.

"Ratchet, that's- that's wrong and you know it. The Decepticons are all horrible people. I know, I was one. They are all psychopaths and we can't trust any of them. I know! I was one!" Drift shouted at him, denying his explanations. Ratchet barely glance at him before he spoke again.

"Why must you adopt such a black and white view of the world?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Huh?"

"Your view of the world is focused on extremes, which is amazingly naïve. Haven't you figured out that, barring certain anomalies, the world is full of shades of gray or did you free fall into the fundamental side of your religion?" he questioned him.

"No, I speak from personal experience, Ratchet. You know what I've I've been through. All the drugs I abused before the war that you treated me for to my borderline PTSD after serving with them, I say this because they're horrible people," Drift explained to him.

"And personal experience can make you extremely biased to the reality of the situation," Ratchet growled, starting to get ticked off.

"Or maybe you're too trusting of those two-timing, backstabbing-"

*Knock* *Knock*

The two went silent as someone knocked on the door and they both turned to it. The tension between the two of them was put on hold as Ratchet stood up and walked over to the door to open it, revealing Skywarp waiting there with Laserbeak on his right shoulder, lightly petting it on the head with his left hand.

"Hey, everyone's up surprisingly early this morning and we're just waiting on you two to come down? Is everything alright?" he asked them, looking around. He took note of Ratchet's clenched fist in anger and Drift wringing his hand together. "Arguing?"

"You could say that," Ratchet murmured, turning over to Drift. "Come on. Best not waste anyone's time further." Drift gave a curt nod before standing up and walking over to them.

"Uh, do you think you want someone subbing in for Drift to chaperone you?" Skywarp asked him.

"No, we can take a bit of disagreement," Ratchet refused him.

"Are you offering?" Drift asked him.

"Drift?" Ratchet gasped, surprised.

"Uh… sure?" Skywarp responded.

"Was that a question?" Drift wondered.

"Uh, no. It wasn't suppose to sound like one. That was a yes. I have nothing to do, so me and Laserbeak could take your spot for the day," Skywarp shrugged.

"Right, have fun with a psychopath, Ratchet," Drift announced as he walked off, leaving them behind.

"What's up with him?" Skywarp asked the medic with raised eyebrow.

"An over-simplistic view of the world," Ratchet muttered in contempt. "Let's go. I'll see if I can patch things up with him later."

* * *

"What was going on with Ratchet and Drift at breakfast this morning and why is Skywarp now Ratchet's companion?" Smokescreen asked as he and Hoist were hanging out at the outdoor café at the mall with a glass of energon between them.

"No idea. A bit strange for them," Hoist muttered. "Bet they had an argument."

"Right, of course," he nodded. "Makes some sense. What about, I wonder."

"Why are you so interested? It's not like you to take interest in other people's affairs," Hoist wondered.

"Well, I don't want a murder here and you never know what can cause people to murder. Those two may have sown the seeds for one inadvertently," Smokescreen told him. "The less amount of murders we have to solve, the better."

"Well, that makes sense," he acknowledge as he saw a couple walking together. "Hey Hound and Rewind! How you doing?" he asked them and the two looked at them before walking on over to them.

"Just looking through the stores for anything we want. The coins from the last murder we solve was a pretty good amount," Hound told them as they took a seat together. "What about you two."

"Discussing the recent rift between Drift and Ratchet," Smokescreen told them. "Kind of strange."

"Yeah… do you think that Drift found out he's the mole?" Rewind asked them.

"Rewind, hush. I prefer it if the mole was either Nightbeat or Mirage," Hound shushed him.

"I don't care who it is as long as it proves that I'm not the mole, which I'm not. Don't get any funny ideas," Smokescreen warned Rewind and Hound.

"Just as long it proves Chromedome wasn't the mole and everyone had nothing to worry about from him," Rewind agreed.

"As long as you were alive, I doubt he would work for Monobear, so I don't think _anybody_ worries about Chromedome being the mole," Smokescreen confirmed.

"That's good to hear. Still leaves questions about who the mole is," Rewind muttered. "This whole conflict between Drift and Ratchet is weird."

"Yeah, I have no idea what to make of it either," Hoist agreed.

"Why are we assuming that it's about him being the mole. It could be about something mundane, like their faiths. Ratchet is a lot more grounded in reality and facts than Drift. Maybe that ticked him off," Hound recommended.

"That's true. Those two have a very stark difference in regards to the universe. I mean, we all believe in Primus. Enough records proved he insist. But how he existed is very different," he told them.

"Been so long since he existed, no one could say for sure. Still, I find it pointless to argue about him. He's dead. Whether he forms our core or just plain old dead, it doesn't matter," Smokescreen shrugged.

"Good point, but people will argue about anything," Rewind shrugged.

"That's also true. Meh. Guess it's impossible. Let's just relax and try to get those two to make up," Smokescreen recommended.

* * *

"So, two days from now, at noon, we will race for my title of Ultimate Racer," Blurr said to Knock Out at the center of the racetrack. Blurr and Knock Out was sitting together on a rather large metal box the size of an average Cybertronian laying horizontally that was certainly not their the other day, but they didn't mind. Gave them a nice place to sit and not dirty their frames on the ground.

"Agree, of which, I assure you, I will win," Knock Out said in a presuming matter.

"Number one racer in Cybertron before the war started. You have your work cut out for you," Blurr chuckled.

"I believe we will see an uprising" Knock Out chuckled. "I'll make sure everyone knows. It'll be a fun diversion."

"Yeah. These people need to take their mind off murder and I believe we'll pull that out when I beat you in a landslide," Blurr took his turn to brag.

"Hah, we'll see when you're busy looking at my rear," Knock Out shot back.

"Now, now, my rear is-"

*Ding* *Dong*

"Eh?" Blurr wondered as the speaker came on. Before long, Monobear's voice came out.

"Attention, attention, teachers. It's time for the next motive. In order to receive it, come together at the garbage disposal room NOW!" he yelled, hurting their audials, leaving them momentarily incapacitated before they realized what he said.

"Garbage disposal room? Why the frag does he want us to meet there?" Knock Out wondered.

"Don't know. I don't like it. Better go see what it is," Blurr said as the two of them walked off.

* * *

Everyone converged in the garbage disposal room. It was basement level, requiring a door on the first floor to get to. Good thing too, because the room was huge. It was populated by several furnaces and incinerators to dispose of any garbage that they created. The biggest one was at the back, which actually used a conveyor belt to dispose of the trash into a huge one. Said conveyor belt was blocked for a curtain for some reason. Everyone was there, ready for the motive. Well, all except one.

"Where's Swindle?" Onslaught asked Blast Off as they stood around the area.

"I don't know. He knows if we don't show up, Monobear will force him to come or worst yet, just go ahead and kill him," Blast Off murmured, afraid. Speaking of the spawn of Unicron, Monobear came out of nowhere (how does he do that) and introduced himself.

"Hello, everyone! How you doing?" he asked them.

"Get on with it," Perceptor said, sharing the thoughts of most of the people there.

"Alright, possible mole suspect," he agreed, digging a barb at him, which great annoyed him. "As you all wonder, why are we all in this magnificent place? Why am I taking so long? Why is that big fraggin' curtain over there?"

"He said get on with it!" Wildrider yelled, looking like he was finally annoyed by his antics.

"Well, as you know, this place is where we dispose of wasteful objects. Trash, bad energon, corpses. All of those completely useless. Of course, another thing are your personal objects," he said, giving a wicked smile and it started to don on people what exactly he was planning. "Behold, the items scheduled for the incinerators if a murder doesn't happen in three days." Monobear grabbed a hold of the curtains and pulled it back, revealing objects behind a glass pane. Before anyone acted, two people shouted the same thing in unison.

"My sword!" Bludgeon and Drift yelled as they ran up to the pane of glass tried to break it, resulting in them bouncing off it without a crack. Indeed, swords were among the items. One being a group of swords, two katanas and a great sword, belonging to Drift, while the other was a simple katana with minor description embellish on it in an old Cybertronian language, probably Primal Vernacular. The other objects ranged from many different items, from jewelry to tools and most weirdest, a _plushy_. Before long, people were at realizing that the other items was an extremely personal items as well and suddenly, most of them didn't act so calm and were instead giving nervous twitches, knowing that the most personal item they had was getting ready to burn in a inferno. Only two people were nervous for an entirely different reason.

"Hey, Monobear. Where's Swindle?" Onslaught questioned, which confused him before he answered.

"Eh, I decided not to bother with him. You can tell him yourself when you find him," Monobear scoffed before walking off. That shouldn't have worried the two of them. In most cases, it would just mean that Swindle didn't come. But this was Monobear, a Grade-A slagger who delights himself in seeing people suffer in despair. He wouldn't do this unless he could cause more despair.

Where the frag was Swindle?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's weird? Character development for Bumblebee. Seriously, look at the previous chapters after the first and gape at how irrelevent and nonexistent he was in the (ab)normal and abnormal days. Figured this chapter was time to delve in his character some and at his self-esteem issues. About damn time.
> 
> Happy new year's eve and new year!


	64. Chapter 5: Bottoms Up

"Where do you think Swindle was?" Dead End asked Wildrider as they drank at the bar.

"I don't know. Don't care," Wildrider bluntly told him, gripping his glass in anger.

"Are you really letting Monobear get to you?" Dead End questioned, turning to him curiously.

"No way. You know me. I don't care about other people's opinion of me," he told him before downing his glass in one gulp.

"Yes… of course you're not," he said in doubt.

"Hey, I know that tone. You don't believe me," he growled, glaring at him.

"You've been a bit angrier since Monobear mentioned you changed, which I find odd," Dead End muttered. "You're a psycho, but a relatively easy-going one. You don't get angry."

"I know… but what does he mean by me changing!? I don't get it!" Wildrider wondered to himself. Dead End let him stew it over as he thought it through. He was angry about him changing. Does that mean that Wildrider is afraid of change? No, things changed all the time. That wasn't it. What about himself changing? Maybe, but he's shown no evidence of it. What was it? "I don't like it, Deady. I really don't like this change." 'This change?' Why this change in particular? If the past happen, there would've been peace, hope, stability… Wait a minute.

"That's it," Dead End muttered. "That's a truly odd fear."

"Huh, what?" Wildrider mumbled, turning to him.

"You are a remarkably fearless person, but you do have one thing that you fear," Dead End continued.

"What? You're kidding, right? Me, have a fear? What would that be?" he chuckled, amused.

"Stability," Dead End answered and Wildrider looked scared.

"Hey, don't you tell anyone about this, okay? I have a reputation and no one can know about this, got that?" he asked Dead End, sticking a finger in his face, making Dead End actually chuckled.

"An unstable person afraid of stability. It makes for perfect irony," he said.

"It's not funny, you aft," Wildrider chided, offended.

"Oh, Wildrider, no need to act like that. You the one who laughs at everyone else's suffering. Allow me this moment of rarely experienced mirth," he told him, still laughing at him.

"Quit it. Laughing at people's weakness is my job!" he yelled at him.

"Now, now, Wildrider. Don't tell me you can't take it like you can deal it," Dead End continued in making fun of him. Wildrider continued to glare at him, his mouth in a scowl. As Dead End was laughing to himself, he didn't see Wildrider clocking his arm back.

*CLANK!*

"Guah!" Dead End gasped as he collapsed to the floor, a throbbing pain on his head as he heard footsteps walking away from him.

"Jerk," he heard Wildrider said, sounding betrayed, as he walked away, leaving Dead End on the floor. He looked up at the ceiling, wondering what happened in a dazed. He laughed at Wildrider's misery. He laughed at his fear. Wildrider laughed at other people's misfortune often, but he usually avoided him and the other people in the gestalt. Dead End mocked and derided him. Why did he do that? Why did he make his only friend in here punch him in the face? Why… was he losing his mind?

"Are you okay, sir?" a voice said and he tilted his head slightly to look in the face of the bartender kneeling over him. Dead End merely glanced at him before he locked his face into a wry grin?

"You know what? Get some high grade, I think I need to drink up," he told him, eliciting a strange look from the bartender.

"You're a strange one… but hey. Nothing wrong with drinking up," he nodded.

"Damn straight."

* * *

"So, what was your item up for incineration?" Skywarp asked Ratchet from behind the bar on the fourth floor lounge. Ratchet glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow as he poured a glass of low-grade for the two of them. They had currently down three glasses apiece and were on to the fourth. They were starting to get a lot more open with each other and Skywarp was taking advantage of that. Laserbeak was in-between them, drinking a glass of regular energon. Aside from them, Jazz was there with Beachcomber, trying to teach him how to play the bass.

"Well… it's nothing really. Just a scalpel. My first one. A doctor named Downstep gave it to me from his personal stash of medical devices. I held a deep respect for him," Ratchet told him as Skywarp gave him a glass and took a sip from it before he continued. "He died before the war. While in an operation, a patient brought a rare infectious disease into the room. The cybonic plague."

"Cybonic plague? Wait, hold on. That wasn't invented until the war start. That stuff was created by Shockwave," Skywarp told him.

"No, he didn't create it. He recreated it," he told him.

"Recreate it?" Skywarp asked, surprised.

"Yes. More virulent and more deadly. However, this one was also deadly as well. It spread around the hospital quickly. They quarantined it. Most of the people died," Ratchet told him.

"Most of the people? Any survivors?" Skywarp asked.

"Just one," he told him.

"And who was that?"

"You're looking at him," he answered and Skywarp felt a shiver down his spinal column.

"Damn… how did you survive?" he asked as Ratchet finished down the rest of the glass. He paused slightly to swallow the energon before answering.

"Downstep somehow managed to create a cure. Thing is, he only had enough for just one person." Skywarp nodded morosely as he finished off his glass. "When he created it, it was down to me, him, a nurse, and a patient that was about to croak. I was the youngest by a solid half a million with the rest of my life ahead of me. The doctor was hold and had come down with a zero point the year before and was dying slowly. He decided quickly and injected me with it. After that, the patient died minutes later. The nurse and him tried to create another cure, but instead, they died in each other's arms. Lucky, for conjunx enduras. Got to die together," he finished his story as he leaned against the bar with a frown. Skywarp had a serious look on his face as he poured another glass for the two of them.

"Damn. I don't know how you can handle that. Being the only person to survive that," he muttered and Laserbeak agreed, flying to his shoulders and nesting its head against his shoulders.

"Had therapy for many years. The scalpel is the only thing I have of the incident. I couldn't simply just throw it away… but I will for everyone's safety," Ratchet told him.

"Humph, at least we're on the same page," Skywarp said in relief as he handed Ratchet his glass, which he took gently as he looked at Skywarp.

"Same page? Got a tragic story behind your object?" he asked him. Skywarp stayed quiet before taking a drink of his glass and answering.

"Yeah. Also pre-war. Since you told your story, might as well tell mine," he told him.

"Which is your object?" Ratchet asked him.

"The gold necklace with the oval amethyst jewel," Skywarp told him.

"That? Why is a piece of jewelry your object? Looks too fancy for you," he questioned him.

"You would be correct. I was a lower class in Vos. Not exactly prestigious," he told him with a chuckle. "But, it had good people. It was one of the few places on Cybertron in which the lower class could actually be friends with the middle and upper class. I… I had a friend. A flyer, by the name of Skywatch. He was a helicopter."

"Jet and copter. Interesting combo," Ratchet muttered.

"Yeah, an odd couple," he acknowledge. "We talked and talked, got to know each other a bit more while offering my little… enhancements to the fun."

"Pranks," Ratchet muttered.

"Bingo. Scrap, I had some fun with him. Too bad that came back to bite me in the aft," he muttered.

"Why is that?"

"Okay, first off, background info about the guy. He had serious self-esteemed issues as well as constantly being stressed out with his duties at work. It was going to be the tenth year since we met, so I decided to you know, do something special. I had this prank planned out as well as the necklace that I actually got legally. He knew stolen property when he saw it," Skywarp told him.

"Let me guess. The look on your face gave it away each and every time," Ratchet said as he gave one final gulp as did Skywarp before he began pouring more for them.

"Great work. For the prank, I decided to use tar that I stole from the local construction crew and got silicone feathers. When Skywatch came home, bang, got myself a silicone hawk," he told him with a dead-eye stare, giving him his glass.

"Something… happen, didn't it," Ratchet guessed as he began drinking with Skywarp doing the same.

"He ran. He ran out into the streets. Pretty soon, the local news caught wind of it and made a news story of it. The day after, he was made the laughingstock of the town," he told him.

"Wow… so, you two stopped being friends," Ratchet guessed.

"I had hopes. I went back to his apartment that night with the necklace in hand, hoping to make it up to him this time. The door was lock so I warped in. I searched the room and found him… dead," Skywarp told him.

"Dead?" Ratchet asked, surprised.

"I found him in the bathroom in the bathtub. He filled the bathtub up, ripped a power cable that was powering the hotel and brought it in the tub with him. Hotel said they had a brief power outage mid-day. Coroner ruled that as the time of death via suicide," he told him.

"Woah… okay," Ratchet muttered as he slammed a glass on the table. Laserbeak gave a few sad beeps before flying over to his shoulders and nesting his head against his neck.

"Yeah… I… I... I loved him. I was hoping we could've been something more. I was hoping we could…" he trailed off, unable to speak it.

"You don't have to say it," Ratchet told him as he laid a hand on his shoulders.

"How could I caused the death of the one person I cared about the most!? How?!" Skywarp yelled, slamming his fist against the table. Ratchet looked around to see Jazz and Beachcomber staring at them with startled expressions, wondering if they should stay there.

"Skywarp, let's head to my room. No one needs to see you like this," Ratchet told him, leading him out of the bar.

"Sure… let's go," he agreed, stumbling around the bar and into Ratchet's arms as they assisted each other out of the room.

* * *

"Open up, Swindle!" Onslaught yelled as he slammed into the door with the full weight of his body for what felt like the hundredth time to Blast Off, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Onslaught was nothing if not determined, but it was getting annoying to Blast Off. Yeah, Swindle being missing was something that was worthy of investigation, but for Primus sake, one should learn when enough is enough. He glanced around to see Skywarp and Ratchet walking past them to Ratchet's room next door. He wanted to strike a conversation with them, but judging by the fact they were struggling to walk, they were probably too inebriated to strike a conversation with. How unfortunate, but you can't get lucky all the time.

"Onslaught, this is an exercise in futility," Blast Off reprimanded him.

"Shut up and help me bust this door down! The sooner we get in, the better!" Onslaught yelled at his subordinate as he rammed into the door for what felt like the one-hundred-and-first time.

"Someone save me from this repetition," Blast Off muttered to himself.

"Everything okay?" he heard someone say and turn to Bumblebee next to him.

"You wanna help? Help me bust this door down!" Onslaught shouted at him as he tried breaking the door down for what felt like the one-hundred-and-second time.

"Onslaught insists that brute force will open the door," Blast Off said, annoyed.

"Uh, didn't Hoist find some way to bust them down?" Bumblebee asked.

"Hoist… Blast Off, watch this door! I'm going to find him and see if he will help me bust this door down," Onslaught ordered him as he ran off in search of Hoist.

"Huh… thanks for that," Blast Off gave his thanks.

"Uh, you're welcome. I think," Bumblebee said, confused.

"Yeah, Onslaught is going a bit crazy with Swindle not appearing and is hoping to find a way to break into his room to talk to him," Blast Off told him.

"You think he's in danger?" Bumblebee asked.

"I doubt it. More likely than not, he's just ignoring us is my guess. Yet, Onslaught continued to be obscenely annoying about breaking into his room. He can't figure out that some people want to be left alone," he said, annoyed.

"You're not worried about him?" Bumblebee asked.

"Of the five of us, Swindle was the one to spend the most time away from us, usually with other people trying to make a shanix or two, but every now and then, he would just lock himself up in his room for the day. Granted, he's even more withdrawn now then he was then, but I'm sure he's fine," he told him. Bumblebee looked at him closely. One of his fingers was tapping against his arm lightly while the other hand was grasping his hand tightly as well as, strangely enough, one of his optics being dimmer than the other. If he had to guess, Blast Off was lying and was worried about him, although he made sure his stony face didn't shift to betray his thoughts. Only his body language and weirdly off optics were giving it away.

"Hey, you want to go somewhere else instead of waiting for Onslaught?" Bumblebee asked him.

"Huh?" he wondered, staring at him.

"I'm just saying, you look uncomfortable. Maybe we can relax somewhere for a little while," he recommended.

"That would be nice… but I shouldn't make him worry about me either," Blast Off muttered.

"Hey, come on. Since what happen at the second trial, you haven't spent your time with people not a member of your gestalt. So let's head to the lounge together. I heard Jazz is trying to teach Beachcomber how to play the bass," Bumblebee told him. Blast Off gave a sigh before answering.

"Sure. Why not. I'm sure Onslaught can break in by himself with Hoist," he said.

"Great. Come on, let's head up."

* * *

"I swear, if Monobear burns that plant, I'll toss him in the incinerator," Hound muttered at the tables at the mall. Rewind was by his side, thinking of things as well, while Hoist and Smokescreen took their place across from them, keeping quiet. Well, Hoist was.

"What's so special about a damn flower, especially one that weird to look at?" Smokescreen asked.

"It's a ghost orchid, you bastard. It's one of the rarest flowers on Earth. Botanist on Earth thought this thing was extinct twenty years ago. If that one burns… it might bring it one step closer to extinction," Hound told him.

"So? That thing is ugly. Ugly shit deserves to go extinct," Smokescreen brushed off.

"Take that back, you asshole!" he said, getting up and leaning over the table, shocking Rewind.

"Okay, look, your flower? Atrocious. You should be glad Monobear is ready to throw it in the incinera-toooor!" he gasped out as hound grabbed him by neck and pulled him toward him, starting to crush his neck cables.

"Woah, Hound! Stop!" Rewind said, trying to push him back.

"Smokescreen!" Hoist said as he tried to get Hound's hand off his neck. He quickly got on the table and pushed him off with Rewind providing help by pulling on him. After a few seconds, hey finally managed to take his hand off Smokescreen's neck cables, leaving him to fall off the table and to the ground, grasping his neck in pain.

"Ha! Can't back up your talk, huh?" Hound mocked as Hoist and Rewind kept him from continuing to choke him out.

"Hound, calm down. Now!" Rewind yelled at him. Hound paused, calming down, taking his words in, before he stopped struggling.

"Right. Sorry," he muttered before taking a seat. Hoist watched him to make sure he wasn't going to attack before he walked over to Smokescreen and help him on to his fist.

"Guah, you have some surprisingly strong hands, Hound," Smokescreen told him as Hoist guided him back to the table and they took a seat, Hoist making sure nothing was wrong with his neck cables.

"I've done some construction work," Hound explained. "Built some houses in the wild on Cybertron and some cabins on Earth."

"How rustic," Smokescreen muttered.

"Yeah, well, I always enjoyed the countryside," he said simply.

"Huh, could be easier than the city," he muttered.

"What city did you live in?" Rewind asked him.

"Good old Iacon. Before the war and after the war. Nothing better," he told them with a grin.

"In your hometown, huh?" Hound muttered.

"Yep. Created here. Lived here until the war started. Probably going to die here if we don't defeat Monobear," he told them.

"Yes… him," Hound muttered. "How are we going to beat him?"

"Well, we'll have to be clever, especially since he recording pretty much everything, including this conversation probably," Hoist told them.

"Yeah… that makes things really difficult," Hound muttered.

"Indeed, so does anybody have any- hey!" he shouted as Onslaught appeared out of nowhere and grabbed a hold of him, placed him over his shoulder, and started running back.

"Sorry! I'll return him later!" Onslaught told them as he left, stunning the three other people at the table before they could properly responded and was out of view. When the shock settled, the three of them looked back at each other before Smokescreen said something.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

"My blade! He has it and he's going to destroy it!" Bludgeon ranted on the first floor, outside of the trash room.

"Mine too! The bastard!" Drift yelled, pacing back forth in anger. Nautilator watched the two of them in exasperation. He knew with how sword-crazy the two of them was, the afternoon was going to be fill with him watching the two of them ranting to each other about their swords being in danger. How wonderful.

"I will disembowel him and stuff his wiring down his intake pipes!" Bludgeon continued to rant.

"Not before I slice his limbs off, one by one!" Drift added to his threats. Naturally, Nautilator sighed in annoyance. These two were going to be at it for a while. He should probably go somewhere else for a little while. Let them blow off some steam. Question is, where should he go? Maybe he should-

"Gah!" he yelled as someone ran over him, sending him to the ground and stepping on his back.

"Apologies!" he heard Onslaught say and look up to see Onslaught carrying Hoist over his shoulders, who wasn't liking it. 

"Let me go, you brute!" Hoist shouted as he carried him around the corner and out of sight.

"What the frag was that?" he asked out loud, turning to the two swordsman only to frown. Somehow, the two managed to completely ignore the Combaticon running over him with Hoist in his arms and were still ranting and raving to each other about Monobear threatening to destroy their swords. "Right, since you busy being annoying yellers, I'll head somewhere else. Hopefully someplace quieter," he said, getting back up and stomping away from the two.

* * *

"What the frag, Onslaught!?" Hoist yelled at him as he let in down in front of Swindle's door.

"I need you to help us break into Swindle's room," Onslaught told him.

"Us?" Hoist wondered, looking around. "There's nobody else around."

"What?" he said, looking around in confusion, his hand on his head and his face contorted to a grimace. "I told Blast Off to stay here."

"Look… why do you want to break into this door?" he asked.

"Swindle… I want to make sure he's safe," Onslaught told him.

"You realize if I do this and Swindle's in there, it leaves him open to night intruders," Hoist asked him.

"Huh?" Onslaught wondered, confused.

"Look, these doors aren't automatic. They have hinges that one has to use to get in. The way I opened Shockwave's door at the party made sure the hinges would break to allow entrance. It's why people can still enter his room. If we do this, Swindle's door would break, allowing people to attack him in the night," Hoist explained to him in detail and Onslaught's face turned to surprise before he contemplated it.

"Well… I guess that's a good point," he admitted, slumping his shoulders. "Doing this could put Swindle in danger at night."

"Exactly. Onslaught, I know you care a lot about your men, but think about your actions first before you get me. Your decisions could make things worse for other people, you men in particular," Hoist chastised him. Onslaught gave a remorseful sigh before speaking again.

"You're right. I'm overreacting. I'm a tactician. I should know that doing this would give Swindle a weakness for people to exploit," he muttered, thinking things through.

"Exactly. I'm going to head back to the mall and-"

"No, wait. I got an idea," he told him, excited again.

"What? You can't get in Swindle's room without breaking his door down," Hoist told him.

"No, it has nothing to do with Swindle at all. It's about the mole," Onslaught told him.

"Huh?" Hoist muttered, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying, what if we use your techniques and break into the dead mole suspects room for any proof that they were the mole," Onslaught explained with a smile.

"That… might be a good idea. The mole could write some notes to himself. We could totally do that and prove that no one alive is the mole, thus making people a lot less suspicious of each other," Hoist agreed.

"I know, it's perfect. We might make it through the motive this time if we do that," Onslaught cheered.

"Right, I'm sure Hound and Rewind can watch over Smokescreen as we do it. First, I need an object to deliver precise force to the door like a chair leg," Hoist told him.

"Let me get one of my chair's leg. Four chairs is a bit much for me," Onslaught agreed, heading to his room real quick before the sound of metal being broken came out of the room. Onslaught emerged from the room quickly, chair leg in hand. "Right, Mirage is closet, so let's break into that first."

"Uh, can we do him last?" he asked him.

"Huh? Oh, uh, forget about your two's relationship," Onslaught nodded. "Alright, he's last."

"Good. Now let's break into Nightbeat's room."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, was this chapter wackier than my usual fun, but I don't mind. It was pretty fun to write.


	65. Chapter 5: Gonna Get High

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, I'm having fun writing so much drama before we even have another murder on our hand.

"Hey, Deady, you're still here?" Wildrider said as he entered the bar again and looked around. It didn't take long before he found him at the counter, still drinking, although now he had the benefit of a drinking partner with Nautilator by his side, who was complaining loudly.

"I mean, could they not talk about their fragging swords for five seconds!" he complained to Dead End and the bartender, the latter looking bored as he leaned on the counter with one hand cupping his head and the other holding a jug half-filled with hih-grade.

"Hey, ignore them. Just drink up!" Dead End told him with a bump on the shoulder and a smile on his face.

"You got it!" he agreed before downing another and motioning for a refill, which the bartender did so.

"Oh dear… he's hit that phase again," Wildrider muttered.

"Who's hit what phase?" someone asked and he turned to see Scavenger standing at the entrance and looking inside.

"Around every twenty or so years, Dead End goes into a 'frag it' phase and decides to drink his misery away," Wildrider informed him.

"So he goes from waxing poetic about the darkness of the world to blackout drunk," Scavenger specified.

"Yeah. It's still based on cynicism, it's just that he's deciding to have fun, sort of like an end-of-the-world party," Wildrider told him.

"Doesn't sound too bad," Scavenger murmured.

"Oh, trust me, him getting blackout drunk is a big problem, as well as the comedown. He gets _miserable_ ," he shuddered. "Imagine what he's usually turnt up to such an exaggerated degree that it borders on parody."

"Oh, Primus," he muttered, looking over at Dead End enjoying himself with an arm around Nautilator and the two laughing it up with each other. "How long will this last?"

"He usually continues his drink-a-thon to the next day, so probably the day after," he told him.

"Okay… you think he'll be okay to be around?"

"Sure, he'll just act more like a prick," Wildrider told him, crossing his arms. "A big, giant prick."

"It can't be that bad, right?" Scavenger asked him.

"The first he did it during Reconstruction, he crashed the recently rebuilt racetrack at Ibex, got inside the announcer's booth and sang 99 bottles of high-grade on the wall before security took him to rest in the cool down before he _broke out_ and proceeded to steal a van from one of the competitor's pit crew, and drove off with it out of the city. When our gestalt had to go search for him, we found him five days later. He somehow drove it into a chasm, and he was on top of the thing, writing another soliloquy about dying alone. He looked disappointed that we save him," Wildrider told him, who looked shocked.

"Was he punished for it?" Scavenger asked.

"He was forced into community service for five years in order to make up for it, under heavy overwatch. Not a fun time for him," Wildrider told him. "He was an extremely grumpy person those days."

"Frag, how can he get more insane than that?" he gasped.

"Oh, trust me. You don't want to see him when he's in that phase and high on syk. Pure, unbridled chaos that trumps everything I done. It's honesty kind of inspiring for someone like me," he sighed happily, thinking it over. "It may come rarely, but when it does, it's pretty awesome."

"Dude, you might need better influences and Dead End needs to get his brain checked out," he responded to him. "He has to have a glitch in his matrix somewhere."

"You think I don't have a glitch?" Wildrider asked, insulted.

"No, I think you have so many glitches, that they are probably no longer considered glitches anymore," he answered.

"Oh, well… thank you!" he thanked, pleased with himself before turning back over to Dead End with a serious look on his face. "He probably has only one glitch, but it's a big one."

"No kidding," Scavenger agreed as the two drinkers began a rendition of 99 bottles of energon on the wall. "Okay, I'm getting out of here before their singing gives me a headache," he said before walking away.

"Right behind you. I don't need something that repetitive to drive me crazier," Wildrider agreed, walking in lockstep behind him. "Hope you got some ideas to entertain me."

"Dude, go away. I'm heading back to the Science Labs where Perceptor and Mix-"

"Oh, I'm definitely coming over to see Perceptor again," Wildrider told him happily and Scavenger moaned in annoyance.

"Fine, but prepare to be bored to death" he told him.

* * *

"Right, Nightbeat's room," Onslaught muttered as he looked around. It was like anyone else's room, although Nightbeat was a bit untidy with a chair at the dining table out of place, a couple of the cabinets were half-shut, and an energon stain on the kitchen floor. "He needs to take better care of his room. Mine is better."

"Used to," Hoist reminded him and Onslaught flinched at that.

"Right… he's dead. My advice is pretty useless," he told him as the two looked around. "So, if Nightbeat was to hide a datapad with his thoughts on it, where would he place it?" he asled out loud.

"Well, we could start with his bedside dresser, obviously," Hoist told him, walking over to them. Onslaught sagged his shoulders from him pointing out the obvious before following behind him. "You take the left and I'll take the right," he ordered and once again, Onslaught had to flinch.

"Hey, I thought I was the leader here," he complained.

"You're the one who wanted to ask questions instead of actually searching around," he scoffed as he reached his bedside dresser and began looking through it. "Want me to look through yours as well?" he sardonically asked as he searched. Onslaught grimaced before heading over to his dresser and searched through it. It wasn't long before someone found a datapad.

"Found one," Onslaught said as he looked at it. "Let's see, possible masterminds: The Institute…"

"They don't exist, so irrelevant."

"..Jhiaxus…"

"Crushed into particles. He's so dead, it's impossible to find any trace of him."

"…Megatron, again…"

"Now that would be such a cliché."

"…and Trepan."

"Uh, who?"

"I don't know," Onslaught shrugged, "but I doubt he's involve if we don't know a thing about him."

"Hmm… trying to think of who he is… I got nothing," he agreed. "Must be a nobody."

"Right, found anything on your end?" he asked.

"Well, I think I got a datapad… yep!" he said, pulling it out and began reading it. "Huh, it's his thoughts on us."

"Really, what does he have to say on us?" Onslaught questioned.

"I'm sure he wouldn't approve of this," Hoist muttered.

"Eh, whatever," Onslaught shrugged. "Not like he was nice. Even if he was helpful."

"Let's see… oh, he was holding back," Hoist said, reading it with a grin. "Here's what he has to say about you. 'Obviously, the term "Ultimate Tactician" is a lie. He's more of a brute than anything else. How else could someone like him get his own men killed?' How brutal," he said and Onslaught was glaring at that datapad.

"Is that all?"

"No, but you really don't want to read the rest," he told him.

"I can handle criticisms," Onslaught muttered in a tone that suggests he probably wasn't ready for any more of them.

"I don't think that would be healthy for your self-esteem," he said as he put it up. "I'll probably take a read of it some other time and see if what's in it of any importance aside from insults."

"Hmpf, if you insist," he said, crossing his arm. "Let's look around for anything else."

* * *

"So what brings you two here?" Jazz questioned Blast Off and Bumblebee as him and Beachcomber got done with the lesson and were resting in the lounge's sofas, each of them nesting a glass of energon. Jazz and Beachcomber took one and the other two took the other.

"I needed people to hang out with and Blast Off needed time away from Onslaught's waning sanity," Bumblebee told him.

"Onslaught isn't doing very good?" Beachcomber asked, worried.

"Swindle's absence at the motive today has him worried and he's trying his hardest to break into his room, so he's busy trying to get Hoist to help him out, considering his ability to break down doors at the Shockwave's murder," Blast Off explained before taking a quick sip. "I do hope Hoist ignores his requests. Onslaught needs to calm down and think about the big picture."

"The big picture?" Jazz wondered.

"The mastermind. The one controlling Monobear," Blast Off answered.

"Oh, yeah," Jazz murmured, scratching the back of his neck while taking a drink. "Any ideas, because I'm drawing a black."

"Yeah, no chance with me. I have no idea," Bumblebee shrugged.

"Same," Beachcomber nodded. "Just like I have no idea who the mole is or the serial killer."

"Oh, I forgot about those," the scout groan, shaking his head, before turning to Blast Off. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you one of the suspects for being the serial killer?"

"Correct, but I'm not the one. Personally, and don't go telling Swindle this, but I think Smokescreen's the serial killer," Blast Off told them.

"Impossible. He has an alibi," Beachcomber told him.

"He does?"

"Yeah," Jazz nodded. "We determine that the serial killer had to have eavesdropped on the conversation between Ratchet, Knock Out, Scavenger, and me, which Smokescreen had an alibi for. He was the only one we can confirm couldn't be the serial killer."

"Oh, is that so? Hmm?" he murmured, a hand to his chin in thought. "Those two have always been a bad influence on each other. When they were partners before the war, both of their greedy sides were amplified. I just assumed that he was doing some terrible things for him."

"You think that it could be the other way around?" Bumblebee questioned.

"…Maybe," Blast Off nodded. "If you're sure Smokescreen can't be the serial killer."

"Positive, even though I can't really remember that day," Beachcomber muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Why can't you remember a thing that day?" Bumblebee questioned.

"I got really hammered that day. Barely remember a thing. I remember talking to Drift about something, and… that's about it," he said, disappointed. "I'm trying to remember more, but I just can't."

"Don't worry, not like its relevant," Jazz said, brushing it off. "No one's using you for an alibi, so it's all fine."

"Hmm, we keep talking about this, but it's rather irrelevant. He is technically on our side," Blast Off said.

"What? He's not on our side," Beachcomber disagreed.

"Last I check, he was forced into this game, just like us. He wants Monobear dead. The person we have to worry about among us is the mole," he informed them.

"Yeah, that's right. As much as I detest him, he's a victim of the game, just like us. The mole is actively working for the mastermind, so we have to snuff him out," Jazz agreed.

"Well then, if Smokescreen isn't the serial killer, than I say he's the mole. He likes money very much and would work for the craven slagger for a price," Blast Off said with disdain.

"How much does he like money?" Bumblebee questioned him.

"Almost as much as Swindle, but he gets it in different ways," he informed him. "Rather than trading and barding his way up, he rather outsmart people through games and such."

"So you think he would be greedy enough to work for such an evil person.

"Indeed. Swindle too, but he wasn't mentioned," he informed them.

"So, Smokescreen is highly suspect," Jazz said, leaning in and thinking about it. "I doubt that any others would have financial motives, so why would they do it?"

"Well, Perceptor may have done it for some scienc-y things I don't understand," Beachcomber suggested.

"Maybe, but we have no idea if he would find any use for this," Bumblebee told them.

"Plus, wouldn't something like this better fit a psychologist?" Blast Off asked.

"Maybe, but he is skilled in multiple fields of study. Psychology might be one of them," Jazz said.

"So, maybe for Perceptor," Bumblebee said. "What about Ratchet?"

"Of course not," Jazz said. "He confessed to me his secret."

"He did? What was it?" Beachcomber asked, interested.

"Hey, I'm not saying. I promised to keep it a secret," Jazz told them. "Now, about the-"

"What if he is lying?" Blast Off interrupted, glaring at him, surprising the spy.

"W-what do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm saying, what if he told you that it was your secret in order to throw attention off of him?" he specified. "If he's the mole, he knows that he would have to throw suspicion off himself. Confessing to a lesser secret that he didn't commit would be preferable over being exposed as the mole."

"That's ridiculous," Jazz scoffed. "He gave me a detailed explanation of what happened."

"On the spot or did he have time to make it up."

"Gah!" Jazz gasped.

"How long?"

"Uh, about four hours," he answered nervously.

"So, he had time to concoct a fake story," Blast Off said smugly, crossing his arms in superiority. "I believe that's enough to keep him a suspect."

"Grr… _fine_ ," Jazz said in disgust. "You win this one, arrogant bastard."

"As always," Blast Off grinned, which earned a angry look from him.

"Right, what about the other guys. The dead ones," Beachcomber said, wanting to defuse the situation.

"Well, Nightbeat is a pricked, but he seems well-intentioned," Bumblebee said, thinking it through. "I honestly kind of doubt he was the mole."

"True. I doubt it," Blast Off nodded. "Mirage, I doubt as well. He got too closed to Hoist. A mole shouldn't do that."

"Shouldn't a mole get close to people so that they don't suspect them?" Jazz pointed out.

"Not close enough that they would blow everything just to get him out," he deflected.

"…Maybe. Guess we can say the same about Chromedome," he compared the two.

"True… Mirage and Chromedome both had deep emotional connections here. It wouldn't make sense for either of them to be the mole."

"So, the likely suspects for being the mole are the ones that are alive. How grand," Bumblebee said sardonically.

"I don't want to suspect any of them as the mole. I would much prefer the dead," Jazz muttered.

"We can't have everything we want," Blast Off said as he looked back towards the stage. "Is that a piano?"

"Yeah, it is," Jazz shrugged.

"Some advice? If you want to pretend you're good at the piano, use only the black keys. The black keys are in pentatonic scale. If you just keep a simple rhythm, you can sound like a professional without being one," he told them.

"You're serious? No way that works," Bumblebee said, suspicious.

"Let's try it out. Follow me to the piano and I shall be proven right," he said, getting up and heading over to it. Bumblebee looked to the other two on the couched, who shrugged together in apathy, before jumping up and follow behind him to the stage. The two of them climbed up and approached it, a black, ornate one. Blast Off took the keys on the lower end while Bumblebee took the higher ones. "Now, listen. I'll compose a simple pattern using the black keys and you can freestyle it using the black keys as well, so long as you keep the rhythm. Understand?"

"Uh, sure," Bumblebee nodded.

"Good. Now, let's do a brief one for 30 seconds and don't be afraid to play whatever come to your mind," he said, and began playing a simple 4/4 rhythm using the black keys in the middle. Bumblebee glanced at his direction before playing some keys. He only played a few notes in the first half, but gradually played more, coming up with a surprising good melody. After time was up, Blast Off stopped him and looked over to the spectators for approval. The two of them looked at each other before giving thumbs up.

"Not bad," Jazz said with a grin.

"Yeah. Totally cool, dudes," Beachcomber agreed.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Bumblebee said with a shy grin, scratching the back of his head.

"Hmph, I told you that would work," Blast Off said with a pleased grin before getting ready to play again. "Alright, let's play again, but with a different composition in the same rhythm at 3 minutes."

"Sure thing. This is fun," he grinned.

"We certainly don't mind, right Beach?" he said with a nudge of his elbow to his blue companion.

"Yeah! Play that. I'm liking it," he nodded excitedly.

"Right. Act 2. Let's begin," Blast Off said as he began a new rhythm.

* * *

"Right, Chromedome. I hope Rewind isn't too mad at us for breaking in," Hoist said right after they broke in, the door barely hanging on with the bottom hinge.

"He'll be happy if we prove he isn't the mole once and for all," Onslaught countered as they took a look around. It was in a bit of a mess in the main room with the chairs a bit out of place and scuff marks indicating the Chromedome paced around in his room a lot. The other rooms, however, look perfectly fine. A scuff mark here and there that everyone had, but nothing too much. Chromedome must've enjoyed thinking by pacing around the place and occasionally bumping into the chairs.

"Hmph, he was a walker," Onslaught muttered as he went to the left bedside dresser while Hoist took the right.

"Heh, I do that sometimes. A good walk can get your wires surging enough electricity to the brain," he said as he quickly searched through the dresser. "Nothing except datapads on mnemosurgery."

"Same," Onslaught said, closing his. "He must have his personal datapad somewhere else," he thought, looking under the bed to find empty space.

"Not everyone keeps one. I sure don't," Hoist told him as he entered the bathroom and looked one.

"Conjunx enduras love keeping tabs on each other. There has to be one around here somewhere," Onslaught told him.

"And what makes you a master on them?" he asked.

"Conjunx enduras work a lot like gestalts, so if you apply something to one of them, it almost certainly applies to the other," he told him as he searched through the closet.

"Your men keep journals?" Hoist questioned.

"Yeah. Don't know what they wrote. Privacy is important."

"That is correct," he agreed as he walked out of the bathroom. "Nothing of note in there."

"I'm not find much as well… ah, found a datapad," he said as he pulled one out from on top and started reading it. "Hmm, as expected, a lot said about Rewind, so much so that he has it split up between him and Rewind."

"The parts about Rewind are probably irrelevant, so see what he did with other people," Hoist said, looking by his shoulder.

"Right, let's see… he apparently talked with Shockwave a little after dinner while Rewind was talking to Soundwave," he said, surprised.

"Looked like Soundwave wanted to know if he could access Rewind's recorder on his head while Shockwave was wanting to know how Chromedome was doing. Hmm," Onslaught muttered thinking it through. "Why would Shockwave be wanting to know how Chromedome was doing?"

"My guest, Chromedome helped him out with his memory. I heard Shockwave got shadowplayed," Hoist told him.

"Seriously? He got empurta _and_ shadowplay? Damn, life was bad for him."

"Ended painfully too. Acid invading his energonstream must've been extremely painful," Hoist said with a shudder. "I wonder if he had anything to say about their death."

"Let's see. Oh, yeah. 'Shockwave and Soundwave are dead. Great.' Guessing that was sarcastic," Onslaught muttered. "I forgot, he liked to snark every now and again."

"He stole some low-grade from the party after viewing the videos about Earth for him and Rewind after the videos from Earth. I would've like that," he muttered.

"The note from before the second trial are scatterbrain. It's mostly him complaining about Rewind," Onslaught muttered, not liking this.

"The boxes in the vent in Rewind's room made the both of them into assholes. Makes sense," Hoist reminded him.

"I know. He makes note of it and those boxes affected my men," he said, morose. "Caused two of their deaths."

"Right… awkward," Hoist muttered. "After he got over it, he was mostly angry at the mastermind, because _of course he was_ ," he said, the reason obvious.

"Than, around the third motive, he talked a lot to Counterpunch, who, as we know, wanted to get rid of his other personality."

"And we both know how that turned out," he said, sadden. "Killed Counterpunch in self-defense and to save Rewind, and was executed for it."

"Yeah, that was a pitiful moment. It was unfortunate that we had to do that, but we would've died," Onslaught muttered.

"A tragic thing. So, you think anything here proves he is or isn't the mole?" Hoist questioned him.

"I don't think so. Yeah, he was mad at the headmaster, but considering what was done to him, whether he was the mole or not, he was going to be upset thanks to the motive affecting him as well and he died to save Rewind. Nothing is certain about this," Onslaught thought it over.

"So, zero for two. Guess there's no use postponing this," he sighed. "Let's head to Mirage's room."

* * *

*gasp*

"Frag this damn wall!" Bludgeon yelled as he and Drift impacted the glass wall in the trash room and slid against it down to a sitting position. "No matter what we do, this wall remains steadfast."

"No kidding," Drift muttered, pacing about and his holding right shoulder. "It is surprisingly resilient."

"It is probably made of similar materials of the wall keeping the academy up. Only reason I can think of for this being able to withstand our assault," Bludgeon hypothesized, thinking about it.

"Yeah, probably," standing still now as he thought it over. "Going to be impossible without some high-grade explosives."

"Hmm, since how efforts will be wasted, it's best to rest. Take a seat," Bludgeon beckoned him. Drift glared at him before relenting, taking a seat a bit away from him. That didn't escaped Bludgeon's notice. "Hmm, your interaction around me is unusual."

"Huh?" Drift questioned, looking at him.

"It seems, whenever you need me for something, it's always something physical. Practicing fighting ability, breaking down this wall, threats against the mastermind: things like that, I'm needed. Yet, you never find the time to strike a conversation with me or with Decepticons in general, even though I'm peripherally related to them," he said, thinking it through. Drift glared at him before he spoke.

"I used to be one of you, you know," he told him.

"Hmm, I have heard about that," he agreed. "Not very relevant to me. I was only working for the Decepticons for Jhiaxus who was only working for them for his own reasons. You betray the Decepticons? Matters little to me."

"Well, I don't trust them. You're sorta okay, but I don't trust you just like I don't trust any other Decepticons," he told him.

"Then, why are you here alone with just me?" he questioned him.

"Because, just like me, you care about your weapon of choice. I figure, as long as your sword is open, you can be trusted to be around."

"And what if I decided to kill you for it?" he questioned him, surprising him Drift.

"You're open about what I want to do," Drift muttered with disdain.

"Not disdain. Just me talking about the possibilities. Despite Nightbeat's unfortunate demise, I don't feel comfortable murdering someone," Bludgeon told him.

"Huh? But you live for the kill," Drift said, glaring at him.

"True, but I am not a moron, nor am I extremely clever. It's not that I am incapable of murder, but I know that I can't get away with the act. I'm not smart enough to think of everything," he told him.

"Hmph, good to hear, although I'm still watching you," he told him.

"I would to, now why do you not feel like talking to me or any other Decepticons?" he asked him again.

"You're an army of psychopaths. I shocked that anyone who isn't a part of your wants to talk to your group," he answered.

"My, how extreme your views are," Bludgeon muttered in disbelief.

"I was one of you. I have first-hand experience," he said.

"Hmm, true, but they can't resemble the vast majority of the army, true?" he said to him.

"It's enough for me," he told him.

"If you insist," he said, getting up. "Guess we should head back up."

"Huh? You're leaving the weapons behind?" Drift asked, standing up.

"It is as you say," he replied, heading for the way out. "We can't break it together. Only with explosives and the like. It is best to just keep with the crowd and make sure you don't get killed," he finished as he exited the room.

* * *

"Mirage kept his room pristine," Hoist said as they entered his room and looked around. As he said, it was kept unsullied, nothing looking out of place nor were there marks of any kind.

"Hmm, he actually keeps the room in better condition than me," Onslaught complimented, looking around. "Guess an ex-senator knows a thing or two about cleanliness. Blast Off sure does and he complains loudly when we don't keep certain areas in good shape."

"Hmph, what a prima donna," he muttered as the two of them went to the bedside dressers and examine them quickly.

"Found nothing but datapads of poetry and novels," Onslaught said, disappointed.

"Same here," Hoist said, shutting it closed. "Heading to bathroom."

"Closet," Onslaught muttered as he opened it up and began looking around. "Huh, he kept a lot of mechanic's tools in here. Wrenches, welders, and other such things," Onslaught said to Hoist.

"He was a good tinkerer," Hoist said. "Wished I could've elevated him to something greater. I imagine the two of us could've done something great together. Just a foolish dream now."

"Hey, it wasn't foolish. Don't say that," Onslaught said, coming up to the bathroom door.

"It was. I knew that it was too good to last," Hoist muttered. "Considering the state that we're in, it was likely that one of us was going to die."

"That's true, but, you still have the memories," Onslaught reminded him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Trust me, it's better to know someone than to never have. If you know the, then the memory lives on in you." Hoist sighed before he spoke up.

"I know, but the pain of having him die right in front of me… it was painful," he whispered, his voice breaking.

"I know how you feel. Brawl and Vortex were… excruciating," Onslaught muttered.

"Yeah… don't know why I'm complaining. We were only friends for a few days. You were gestaltmates. I have no right to suffer when that happen to you," Hoist chastised himself.

"It's not a contest. Our suffering maybe unequal, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve to mourn. It's natural," he told him, clinging tightly to Hoist. Hoist didn't do anything, keeping completely quiet, before he spoke again.

"Thank you," he breathed out softly.

* * *

"So, everyone doing good?" Smokescreen questioned Rewind and Hound as they were at the bar resting in a booth, all of them with a glass of low-grade. It was empty now and the only one there besides the three of them was the bartender cleaning up the bar where a massive amount of high-grade had spilled on the counter and around the floor. The bartender was grumbling to himself about the 'two crazies' who wreak havoc at the bar.

"Yeah, I guess," Hound said, him and Rewind sitting together at the other end.

"You don't sound very good," Smokescreen noticed.

"Well, I'm still peeved about my orchid's upcoming demise if something doesn't happen," he muttered.

"Hmm, and about you, Rewind?" Smokescreen questioned. "What was the item up for incineration?"

"It is a sketch of the inner workings of my brain that Chromedome sketched out. He investigated my mind once and decided to sketch that for me. It's… something that I don't think can be replicated," he told them. "They can redraw it, but it will never be drawn by Chromedome again."

"Wow, that's… kinda cool," Smokescreen admitted honestly. "Frag, I wish I got a better look at that back in the trash room."

"Well, if it all goes well, you won't. I really don't want another murder to investigate," Rewind muttered, worried. "Which item of yours is going to burn?"

"Heh, nothing I cared much about. The only thing I care about is cold, hard cash. He can burn my possessions, but I wouldn't care," he told them in a blasé matter.

"You're kidding, right?" Hound asked, leaning in. "You really don't have a personal item to save?"

"Of course not! Like I said, money, plus, if I can have it," he raised his glass and motion for them to do the same. The two looked at each other before doing what he wanted and clinked their glasses. "Good company is always good," he said as the three of them down the glasses.

* * *

"And then, BOOM! The explosives went off and I hightailed it out of there like a circuitbooster user on syk," Wildrider told Mixmaster, Scavenger, and Perceptor in the science lab, the former two trying their best to ignore him and the latter making him continue on, amused.

"How interesting," he muttered, a slight grin on his face. "And then what happened?"

"Well… oh scrap," he muttered, looking behind Perceptor. The scientist furrowed his brows before he turned around to see Dead End and Nautilator stumbling in the place, both having a drunken smile on there face.

"Oh, dammit. They're the ones drunk beyond belief," Perceptor cursed, whiched earned a shocked look from Wildrider.

"I swear, you cursing with that scientific voice is strangely alluring," he said.

"We'll talk about you're strange attraction to my voice later," he said as Dead End left Nautilator leaning against the door frame and approached the two Constructicons.

"Heeeeeeey, Mixmaster! Got *uck* a favor," he said to Mixmaster, leaning on the counter next to him for support.

"And what would that be?" Mixmaster asked him, scowling.

"I… want some syyyyyyk and circuitboosters," he told him, making him scowl even more.

"No. I'm not doing it just because you want-"

"I'll spill your seeeeecret," Dead End told him, making him gasp.

"What!?" he yelled, glaring at him. "You're the one who has it!"

"YEP! And if you don't *uck* give me what I want, well…" he trailed off, leaving it in the air.

"You…," Mixmaster growled, ready to attack, before taking a deep breath to relax. "Fine. So long as you keep quiet about my secret. Tell anyone and you'll find yourself without an arm."

"Yay! Nautilator, we're getting drugs!" Dead End shouted to Nautilator.

"WOO!" Nautilator shouted, his arms up high, before he collapsed backward. "OW!"

"What, but… Mixmaster, you got to keep _off_ the syk," Scavenger told him, worried.

"And I will. I won't get tempted, Scavenger," he said, an arm to Scavenger's shoulder to ease him.

"But… I'm worried."

"You have a right to be," he told him before turning back to his blackmailer, who was having the cheekiest grin on his face before he spoke.

"Now, I believe that was two orders of circuit boosters and syk. We're gonna get high."


	66. Chapter 5: Violent Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all those who want to know, I have a twitter now. You can follow me at @Epicenter_Six on there and I'll stay there, so long as the Orwellian safety council they got set up doesn't piss me off.

 

"Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Blurr yelled as he crossed the checkered line and transformed back to his bipedal form. "Time?" he questioned Knock Out, who was sitting on a large rectangular crate, looking annoyed while staring at a stopwatch.

"33.32 seconds," he muttered, tossing it to him before running up and transformed to his alt. form and began revving his engine. The night sky was dark, reflecting night, while the racetrack was lit up by floodlights. Blurr took a seat at the crate and began counting down.

"3! 2! 1! Go!" he shouted and Knock Out sped off, ready to beat his score. Blurr relaxed on the box as he saw Smokescreen, Hound, and Rewind coming his way.

"Hey, mind if we see what's going on?" Smokescreen asked him.

"Sure, come on over," Blurr motioned them over and the three ran on over before taking a seat next to him on the crate.

"So, what's up?" Rewind asked, standing at the end of the crate and looking over to Knock Out driving around.

"Oh, yeah. We haven't told you guys yet, haven't we?" Blurr questioned.

"Told us what?" Hound asked him, next to Rewind.

"Me and Knock Out are going to be holding a race here two days from now at noon to see who's the fastest and we would like everyone to come along, watch, and have fun," Blurr told them.

"Oh, really? Sounds like a good time," Rewind chimed in from behind Hound.

"Hmm, I think that will work perfectly," Smokescreen assented with a smile and a shake of the head, sitting between Hound and Blurr.

"Great, and…," he trailed off as Knock Out came close to the finished line and waited until he crossed it before he spoke again as Knock Out came back in bipedal form and posed in victory. "34.45 seconds," Blurr grinned.

"What?!" Knock Out shouted, stomping on over and looking at the clock. "Dammit! How come I can't keep up!?"

"Professional racer here. You're not overcoming me," he said as he got up. "Now, as I've been explaining to these guys, we're having a race two days from now."

"Yes, of which I'll find some way to beat you," he agreed.

"Right, well, one lap would be too boring, so you got to keep consistent. We'll be doing 100 laps on the day of the race, so let's do 10 laps," Blurr said as he handed him the stopwatch to the right hand and got into position.

"Right," he muttered as he took a seat and prepared to get started. Blurr was revving and ready to go. "3! 2! 1! GO!" he yelled and Blurr rushed off at high speeds. Knock Out hunched over, holding his head with his free hand and balancing it on his knees, before giving a sigh.

"You're okay?" Rewind asked him, leaning in as well.

"Yeah, I'm just… how is he so fast!?" Knock Out wondered out loud. "It's abnormal for anyone to be this fast."

"Well, he _is_ the Ultimate Racer for a reason," Hound reminded him. "He must've done a lot of things to himself or use some modifications."

"I have too! Granted, most of it was for aesthetics, but they assure me that it was top of the line," he complained.

"Well, maybe he's just got the goods," Smokescreen said with a shrug. "Not everyone is created equal."

"Asshole has a point," Hound acknowledged.

"I thought we were over the whole plant thing," the gambler muttered.

"Oh, I forgave you, but I don't forget," he told him, which earned a nod from Smokescreen.

"Good code of conduct. A like that," he agreed as Blurr completed his first lap.

"Damn, that was a good first lap," Knock Out muttered.

"Like I said, he's got the goods," Smokescreen told him. "Everyone wants the underdog to win, but in most cases, that isn't the case. Longshots are like that for a reason. It's smart to bet on the purebred."

"So what? I should be able to reach his levels," Knock Out complained.

"Let me go ahead and tell you, there's something in the energon over at Ibex," he informed him. "Gamblers have a saying in racing: 'Don't bet against Ibex.' The fact that you're even close to him is pretty impressive, for someone who isn't from there."

"Yeah, I mean, challenging Blurr to a race is a doom proposition, but you're handling yourself pretty well," Hound added to the choir.

"Maybe, but when I'm this close, I feel like I can overtake him," Knock Out told them as Blurr came around again to begin his third lap.

"Well, good look with that, but it's not going to happen," Smokescreen told him honestly.

"Thanks for the sign of support," Knock Out sardonically cheered, glaring at him.

"Right, sorry. So, how long you two going to be practicing?" Smokescreen asked him.

"Probably 'til around midnight," he answered.

"A bit late to be out," Rewind muttered.

"Maybe, but we got energy to expend," Knock Out answered. "Drank a bunch of energon before we got started driving laps."

"Good to hear. I imagine you'll be drinking a lot for a while," Smokescreen nodded as Blurr finished the fourth lap.

"What's the time?" Knock Out asked them.

"Um, you got it," Rewind told him.

"No, not the lap time, the time of the day," Knock Out specified, annoyed.

"Oh, uh, sorry!" Rewind yelled as he pulled his electroID out and took a look at it. "Uh, it's almost nine."

"Great. Won't don't you all head on out and spread the word. Would love a good audience," Knock Out told them.

"Right, sure. We'll probably be heading in soon to recharge," Hound told him.

"Sounds like a good call. Good night," he told them as Blurr passed by and the three of them ran off.

* * *

"Looking good," Mixmaster muttered as he was busy cooking up a batch of syk and circuit boosters for Dead End and Nautilator to use, who were both leaning onto the counter for support. Scavenger was busy being his assistant while Perceptor and Wildrider were both off to the side, watching the procedure with the two of them murmuring to each other. In front of him was two glass containers full of liquid, one purple to represent syk and the other yellow circuit boosters. "Just let them rest for about 10 minutes and they should be good for consumption, although I would recommend against it."

"Now whyyyyyy is that?" Nautilator asked, staring intensely at the glasses of liquid.

"Don't worry. It's all *hic* fine," Dead End told him with an unfocused wave of the hand. "I've done it before. It's no problem."

"Dead End, don't lie like that," Wildrider said seriously, unamused. "We had to bring you to Hook for major organ failure one time."

"You said he caught a disease!" Scavenger yelled at him.

"We lied."

"Of course you did. Should've known," Mixmaster murmured. "So, here it is. Do with it what you want. I don't care."

"Are you sureeeee?" Dead End slurred out. "Sure you don't want to join us for some fun?"

"I'm sure," he said as he pushed it towards him. "Go crazy. I usually do when I get some of the syk." The drunk cynic glance at him before taking the container full of syk.

"Come on, Naughty. Let's go to someplace private," he told the Seacon.

"Righto," he agreed as he grabbed the container full of circuit booster and headed on out with him, leaving the four behind.

"So, Mixmaster, what will the syk do to their system?" Perceptor questioned him, turning to him.

"A variety of things, especially with the circuit booster added to the mix. Audial hallucinations and heighten feeling of elation always occurs, but as Wildrider inferred, more serious and dangerous things can occur, such as massive organ failure. Depends on the quality of the items used and the skilled of the cooker to decide how many positive qualities are in the syk. Thing is, syk is hard to cook right and those adverse side effects come really easily."

"So, you need a place with quality supplies and a really good chemist. Sounds like we got both," the ultimate scientist muttered.

"Yeah, so I wouldn't worry too much about their health," he told them as he began cleaning where he worked. "Once I'm done cleaning up, I'm turning in for the night with a bottle of high-grade."

"Oh, sounds like a good idea," Wildrider agreed, cheering up. "Don't mind getting a little tipsy tonight. You should come join me, Percy. Tonight is a good time to get wasted."

"I'll consider it. Just make sure if I do come, bring a lot of it," he told him.

"Oh, yeah. You got it! Come stop by my pad if you want to have fun tonight," he said as he ran on out, leaving the three behind.

"You're really planning on drinking with him?" Scavenger asked him.

"I might. Could be good to just spend a night not doing any calculations," he told them.

"Provided you can trust Wildrider," Mixmaster muttered as he put the equipment up. "I wouldn't trust him as far as Beachcomber can throw him."

"Fair point, but I think he genuinely likes me," Perceptor told them. "At the very least, he finds me interesting."

"After what he did to Counterpunch's corpse, I wouldn't be alone with him," Scavenger echoed his gestaltmate.

"Well then, let's hope Wildrider isn't stupid," Perceptor said as he headed on out, leaving the Constructicons behind. With that, Scavenger went over to Mixmaster and helped finished off cleaning the area. After a few minutes, the place was completely clean and the two were ready to head out.

"Thanks for helping me out," Mixmaster told him with a pat on his back.

"Oh, uh, you're welcome," Scavenger said, scratching his neck cables. "So, you're turning in for the night."

"Yeah. Got some high-grade. Maybe add a couple of things to it to make me recharge faster. Would be good."

"Alright."

"And what about you?" he asked him.

"I don't know. Might just grab me a glass of energon and recharge for the night," Scavenger told him. "Best way to stay safe for the night."

"Yes. Safety is most important," Mixmaster agreed. "With people's personal items on the line, it'll probably be best not to stay up for the night."

"Got to stay safe no matter what," his gestaltmate agreed. "Can't trust anyone here, except each other."

"That's right. No one except each other. Good night, Scavenger," he said as he exited the room. Scavenger stood around for a minute before he headed out as well.

* * *

"What the frag?" Onslaught muttered as him and Hoist entered the fourth-floor lounge to see Blast Off and Bumblebee playing together on the piano pretty damn good and Jazz and Beachcomber enjoying it together, relaxing back in their chairs and bopping their heads to the music. When he said that, Jazz turned over to them and smiled.

"Hey, come on over," he said as he waved them over. Onslaught and Hoist looked at each other shrugged before heading on over to the duo to listen to the performance. After a minute, the duo finished their performance and the four of them gave there applause as they came on back to the group and took a seat.

"Not bad, Blast Off," Onslaught complimented his gestaltmate with a pat on the shoulder.

"Couldn't have done it without Bumblebee," Blast Off replied and Bumblebee looked a bit embarrassed at that before he replied.

"Thanks. Need to learn how to use those white keys, but so far, I'm doing good," the scout said.

"Right," the sniper said before turning to Onslaught. "So what did you do?"

"Well, we've been busy breaking into the dead mole suspect's room and looking for anything to prove they are or are not the mole," Hoist told them.

"Wait seriously? Do you have any respect for the dead?" Beachcomber asked them, disgusted.

"Yeah, we do. We just think that figuring out whether or not we should still suspect the living would be better," he replied, uncaring. "Of course, we didn't really find anything out on them, so whatever."

"Nothing at all?" Jazz questioned, interested.

"We found some datapads with notes on it about their time there, but none of them are a smoking gun. So, we have to still suspect them and the living suspects for the mole," Onslaught explained to them.

"Are you sure there's nothing in there to indicate any of them are the mole?" Jazz questioned him.

"Well, not from what we read. Nothing seemed to indicate that they were working with Monobear. Nightbeat's datapad was just him being a dick in his opinion on everyone and his opinion on who the mastermind is, Chromedome's was about his time here, and Mirage didn't have anything barring poetry and novels," Hoist told them.

"Hmm, you think Nightbeat trying to figure out who the mastermind is could discredit him as the mole?" Bumblebee asked him.

"Maybe, but we have no proof that the mole know who the mastermind is either. The two of them may have different agendas," Jazz argued against it.

"Fair point," the scout agreed. "We have no idea what the relationship between the two is like."

"It really is a shame we can't find anything on this traitor," Onslaught muttered, crossing his arms. "Anyone who would willingly decide to work with this bear deserve no sympathy from me." Everyone in their could tell he was like that due to the traitor being indirectly responsible for the death of Brawl and Vortex, as well as everyone else.

"Well, how else can we find any information on the mole?" Beachcomber asked the group. "I mean, there has to be something for us to do to find information on them."

"Just keep your optics up and watch over Ratchet, Smokescreen, and Perceptor carefully," Blast Off warned them. "Until we dispel who the mole is, we'll have to be careful about whatever they do."

* * *

 

"You're berth is so comfortable," Skywarp groaned as him and Ratchet were piled up on the medic's berth, laying right next to each other. "When I lived in Vos before the war, I was lucky to even have a berth."

"My sympathy," Ratchet said, feeling sorry for him. "Growing up like that must've given you a tough shell. Perfect for war."

"Oh, you bet," he saw with a drunken smile. "Honestly, joining the Decepticons was the best thing that happened to me. Actually gave me a place to stay and a steady amount of energon to use."

"Plus, a trine to go to," Ratchet added.

"That too. Oh, Starscream and Thundercracker are such pains in the aft, but I love them," Skywarp admitted to him. "So many bad things to say about them, but I couldn't imagine a life without them." He repositioned himself slightly to be more comfortable. Wings can sometime be difficult to manage. "I hope they're alright."

"I can't promise that, but Starscream is too much of a schemer not to come of with something to keep him alive and Thundercracker is pretty bright. I'm sure, that whatever is going on outside, they'll be fine," he attempted to comfort him.

"I hope so. So many people have died in such a short amount of time. Probably so many more have died. I'm hoping for the best, but I'm preparing for the worst," Skywarp told him.

"Always a good way to live by. Be realistic about probabilities," Ratchet approved. "Only question is, how much worst can it get?"

"Guess we'll find out soon…." Skywarp trailed off as he sipped int recharge with Ratchet following behind him.

* * *

*Ding* *Dong*

"This is an announcement. It is now 10 PM. Please rest peacefully." The voice of Monobear rang out through the building.

"Don't care," Drift muttered as he and Bludgeon down a shot of high-grade and slammed the shot glass to the table.

"Shot five completed," the bartender said as he deftly poured more high-grade in each of their glasses. The two swordsmech decided to engage in a drinking competition to soothe their competitive spirit. "I wonder how long it will take before one of you falls."

"Be prepared to wait quite a while," Bludgeon told him.

"Hmm, if you insist. Take another shot," it told them and they did so, handling it easily. "Hmm, I hope you two can handle it better than the geologist. He can handle it for quite a while."

"Yeah, poor guy," Drift muttered. "He's been through a lot. He really needs to drink his sorrow away."

"How bad is his drinking problem?" Bldgeon questioned him.

"I remember, on the day Scavenger got assaulted, he was busy drinking with Smokescreen. He just left when I got their and Beachcomber was drunk off his mind. He even remembered when I was one of you."

"Oh, did he? Why does he remember you?" Bludgeon questioned him.

"Well…," he muttered as the bartender poured the seventh shot for them and put it in front of them, "Shockwave needed a guinea pig for his experiments, so I went and got him one." The two of them took their shots.

"Let me guess. The experimented was Beachcomber," he figured out.

"Yeah," he replied guiltily. "I swear, whenever I see him, I can't help feeling guilty for forcing him to endure all of what that mad scientist did to him."

"Humph, the past is in the past. You can't change it, so you have to find a way to deal with it, like I have with Jhaxius," Bludgeon told him.

"True. No use complaining about it. Just wish I can find some way of making Beachcomber better," Drift muttered.

"You're asking the wrong individual about your problems," he told him bluntly.

"I know. Your ability to care about anyone is remarkably low," he remarked.

"I'm not good at emotional connections," Bludgeon admitted.

"Well, good on you for admitting it," he said as the bartender prepared shot number eight.

"Truth is important for me. I don't take lies very well," he told him.

"I can get down with that," Drift agreed as the eighth shot was placed in front of them. "Now, let's see if you can take high-energon very well."

* * *

Swindle emerged from his room at the dead of night. He had kept himself in his room the whole time and haven't left sense. He had no idea why Monobear decided not to let him attend the motive, but he was fine with that. He didn't want to talk with anyone, his gestalt most of all. He didn't trust anyone here and he might as well just stay in his room. Problem was, he was almost out and he needed to get some more energon. He went down the stairs as stealthily as he can, not wanting to get anyone's attention. At this time, it was likely that no one was up, but it was better safe than sorry. He arrived to the lunchroom and enter the dimly lit room. It was hard to see anything in here, but that didn't matter, as he memorized the route and quickly transverse the room to the storage door and opened it to the cubes of energon. He gave a small grin to himself as he approached it. A quick and clean pick-up.

*Clang*

"Guah!" Swindle grunted as he collapsed forward and impacted the ground, his head aching. Something hit him in the head and he couldn't recuperate fast enough as he felt something pressing against his back and his head, preventing him from getting up. Almost immediately, he felt something pierce his neck cable, like a needle, and he felt something entering his energonstream. It didn't take long before he started feeling hazy and he blacked out.


	67. Chapter 5: Troubled Souls

_Day 17_

"Ugh," Onslaught muttered as he got up from sleep. He looked at the time to see that it was 8 o'clock. He groaned as he realized that he was late. He was pacing around his room all night, thinking about Swindle and about what he found in the room. He was still worried about him and he was sure that something he found in the room pointed to who was or wasn't the mole. The question is what? With that slogging through his mind, he got up and headed on out. He trudged through the hall slowly, stretching his limbs as he did so and his neck cords as well. He must've slept in an uncomfortable way as well, which was just great. He have to work out the kinks while on the way to the cafeteria. He knew he was late, but he hoped they were still there. Well, every except Swindle was still there. Fragger was probably still in his room, never leaving until something… happens… Was Swindle's door cracked open?

Onslaught switched his gazed to the door and saw that it was cracked open. Intrigued, Onslaught went over to it and opened it to see Swindle's room, empty of him. He looked around the room to see a bunch of empty cubes and glasses strewn about the room. He must've been spending his days drinking away on energon or whatever he had hoarded in the room. The question is, where was he now? If he was lucky, he was in the lunchroom, so he hurried on out of the room and headed down the steps. He quickly arrived to lunchroom to see everyone there barring Knock Out, Blurr, Dead End, Nautilator, and most unfortunately, Swindle. The grouped looked at him, surprised at how sudden he entered. "Where's Swindle?" he questioned them.

"Swindle? I would guess he's still in his room," Perceptor answered him.

"He isn't. His door was cracked opened and he wasn't in there," Onslaught told him.

"Wait, really?" Smokescreen asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I figured he was out looking for more energon so I came here," Onslaught answered.

"Well then," Blast Off muttered, standing up, "let's go looking for him. I'm sure if we all pitch in, we'll find him in no time and get him adjusted to talking to us again."

"Yeah, I find it a bit odd that he would leave his door opened," Smokescreen agreed, getting up as well. "He's not right so far and we need to make sure he's safe."

"Don't think I've ever seen you so worried before," Hoist said to Smokescreen as he got up as well.

"What? He's my friend! I can't just let him continue to stay in isolation," he replied. "Now, come on guys. We need to make sure Swindle is alright." At his request, they all got up, ready to begin the search.

"Right. Let's divide up. 17 of us here so let's divide into two to a group except for one that will have three," Onslaught ordered.

* * *

"I wonder what Swindle is doing to get him out of the room?" Blast Off questioned Onslaught as they were done searching through the third floor lounge. "I highly doubt it was just to get more energon, as could've just get here and get out quickly. So he must be looking for something else."

"I wondered what. He must've been researching something while crammed in his room," Onslaught murmured as they walked to the next room. "Wondered what he could be researching."

"Knowing him, something financially related," the ex-senator muttered. "Maybe he found some of the finances of the academy."

"That would be interesting, but probably irrelevant," Onslaught muttered as he opened a door to an art room and began searching it. "What was going on at the cafeteria today?"

"Smokescreen would like us to meet up at twelve at the auditorium for something and Knock Out and Blurr are having a race tomorrow at noon and are warming up at the racetrack right now," Blast Off told him.

"They are? What's the point of that?" Onslaught questioned him.

"To build moral support," he answered. "You know what sports events are like. Bunch of people cheering on the person or group they support. Not my type of thing, but the common mech enjoys it."

"Hmm, never had much time for them," Onslaught muttered. "I think Swindle like to used them to set up gambling rings with Smokescreen."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

* * *

"Yeah, me and Swindle totally set up a gambling ring," Smokescreen told Hoist as they searched through the fourth floor together and were currently in the lounge.

"Why am I not surprised?" Hoist murmured as he was peered at the backroom behind the bar.

"Yeah, we had a bunch set up in Ibex at the racing circuits and made a bunch of money through online betters. Pretty good time for us before the police caught wind of us and we had to close shop before they caught us. Had a few close calls there," he described it to Hoist.

"Sounds enthralling," Hoist dryly replied.

"Oh, it really was. We even had a little rat in our midst that Swindle took care of," he told him.

"Took care of? What do you mean?" Hoist asked, interested.

"Oh, well, I noticed one of our men was stealing money while simultaneously giving information to the police. So I told Swindle about him and, well, he took care of it," he replied. "His dead body was found the next day, his limbs broken by a pipe before it was used to crush his head to a pulp."

"Ouch. Grisly end for him," the repairer remarked. "Remind me not to get on his bad side."

"Yeah, little guy can be quite brutal if you try to screw him over. Be nice to him, he'll be nice to you, simple as that," he told him.

"Right, well, I don't see him around here, so he has to be someplace else," Hoist told him.

"Yeah… someone will have to get lucky and find him. It's only a matter of time. We can't just give up."

* * *

"I say we just give up," Scavenger whined to Mixmaster as they were searching the library. "If he was here, than we would've found him by now."

"How defeatist of you," Mixmaster murmured as they were busy looking around the first floor of the area. Indeed, due to how structure of the library, it was pretty easy to look around and no good place to hide.

"Look, this is a waste of time. Let's just head on back to our rooms or just head on out to some other place, to search for him," he suggested to him.

"Scavenger, we're here anyway, why not look around, read a few datapads. You might learn something," he said as he approached the archives' panel and looks through it. "Huh? The archives are locked until a little before noon."

"Really?" Scavenger asked, coming over to look at it. "Who would use it that late?"

"I don't know. Maybe Swindle took use of it last night before going somewhere else," Mixmaster suggested. "Wouldn't surprise me if he did."

"I guess so. So, do you want to go somewhere else?" Scavenger asked.

"Nah, just continue on as it is. Read a datapad or two. We might find some information of use to us about the school or what's happening outside," he suggested to him.

"The outside," Scavenger hummed. "Do we even want to know? How about we just kill the mastermind and just stay in here. Let's not worry about what's going on outside and just stay here where it's safe."

"And leave the rest to suffer?" Mixmaster question, getting in his face. "Scavenger, now is not the time to think selfishly. The only way we're surviving this is through selflessness. We have to help as many people as we can in order to get a working society again."

"I don't know. Twenty-two sounds like a good enough society. A small village, but still a village," he shrugged. At that, Mixmaster couldn't help holding his head in disbelief before taking hold of Scavenger's shoulders as firmly as possible.

"Scavenger, I'm highly tempted to smack the scrap out of you, so quit saying stupid stuff, okay? Can you do that?" he asked him as harshly as possible.

"Uhhhhh, okay," Scavenger nodded clumsily.

"Great," he said before giving him a soft smack of the cheek. "Now, find a datapad, sit down, and shut up."

* * *

"Could you shut up about all the scientific scrap?" Wildrider told Perceptor as they were in the science based store together. "I love your voice, it is quite sexy with that whole science thing, but I have a limit for scientific mumbo-jumpo."

"Sorry, but Science is kind of my field of expertise WIldrider, so if you're upset, you may kindly frag off," Perceptor cursed.

"There's what I love!" Wildrider shouted in glee. "You, saying all those naughty words. I would like you to say more naughty words in the berth."

"Wildrider, don't be subtle. You're not good at it. You want to frag me, don't you?" he questioned him. At that, he gave a shake of the head yes. "Well, with an answer like that, no, never, please never want that again." At that, he looked crestfallen.

"Come on! You roomed with me last night. Why not turn it up a notch?" Wildrider said, placing a hand on his Perceptor's side in a suggestive matter.

"Okay, now I know there's more to this than you letting on," he said, wrenching his hand off of him. "Tell me, what's wrong with you besides the painfully obvious?"

"Wrong with me. Whatever could you mean?" he chortled, crossing his arms. "I just want to get down on you."

"My, how blunt. Too blunt for your usual self," Perceptor murmured, placing a hand on his shoulder firmly, making it slightly painful for him. "Now, quit your distraction tactics and tell me the truth, dammit!"

"Truth? What truth? That I'm insane?" Wildrider question with a sneered.

"Everyone has a bedrock to keep them holding on to reality with a thin grasp. Tell me, why are you trying to make me your bedrock unless… unless you're bedrock hasn't been acting accordingly," he whispered the last part, figuring out what was wrong with him. "Dead End. He's been pushing you away and you're trying to get me fill his position."

"What?" Wildrider asked, pushing his arm off. "What gives you the right to say something so stupid?"

"Right on the money," Perceptor murmured, realizing he was right. "Listen, Wildrider, I know Dead End has been acting off, but as you've stated, this is temporary. You don't have make me his replacement," he attempted to soothe him, placing his arm on his shoulder again, this time as comfortably as possible. Wildrider was gritting his denta at him, annoyed at Perceptor

"It's more than that. He made fun of my weakness. When I needed him to not be a condescending fragger, he decided to be so anyway. He's never done that. We mock each other's personality, but not our fears. That's the unspoken rule among us," Wildrider told him and Perceptor was shocked by the amount of venom in his voice. He was genuinely hurt by Dead End mocking his weakness, whatever that was. It was downright surreal for him to see Wildrider actually like this.

"Wildrider, I'm… sorry for the pain you've felt that Dead End has caused you," he said, sounding as sincere as he could.

"Thanks. I… I just need to wait and talk to him later when he's feeling better. That's all," he murmured.

"Well, I'll take care of you until he's better," Perceptor told him.

"Thanks. I just don't want to find him yet."

* * *

"Is that Dead End and Nautilator?" Skywarp said as they were checking the forest in the Vitual Outdoor Area. The two of them were laying on the ground next to each other, two empty containers and several syringes strewn about them.

"Oh, it definitely is," Ratchet said as he hurried on over to check on them with Skywarp and Bumblebee by his side. Bumblebee felt like the odd one out of everyone and decided to interrupt the pairing of the Combaticons and work with Ratchet and Skywarp. The three of them went on over and Ratchet began examing the two. He quickly placed a finger at one of the wires on the wrist of Dead End and measured his rate of his spark pulsating before measuring Nautilator's. "Both of their pulse rates are low, especially Nautilator. Can you two give each of them a hard rub on the upper mouth?" The two did so and Nautilator gave no reaction to it while Dead End optics onlined and he stared dully at the sky.

"Hey, Dead End's online," Skywarp told him.

"Can he talk?"

"Let me check. Hey, Dead End, you stupid nihilist, can you talk?" he asked bluntly and Dead End didn't react except for slightly shifting his view at him briefly before looking back up at the sky. "He react, although only a small amount. Like he was reacting to my voice, but not what I was saying."

"Dammit. Looks like symptoms of overdosing on chems, particularly circuit boosters in conjunction with something else. Magdons, T-fritz, maybe even syk. They need help right now, so help me get them to the medical lab," he ordered them and they did so, Skywarp picking up Dead End and Bumblebee grabbing Nautilator and the medic quickly led them out of the area, and quickly into the Med-lab. The two overdosers were laid out on slabs and Ratchet quickly went to a medical cabinet.

"What's wrong with them exactly?" Skywarp asked, looking at them nervously while Bumblebee was standing, ready to help at a moment's notice.

"Overdosing with circuit boosters leads to overworking the spark and can cause it to slow down to where it is completely extinguished. They need the spark to be charged back up before I start administrating a couple of other medicines," he told them as he grabbed a yellow vial, uncapped it, grabbed a couple of syringes, and filled both of them up. "A shot of adrenaline to push they pulse rate to normal," he said as he went over to the patient and position the syringe at Dead End's neck and began injecting it. "The neck is the most exposed part with wires heading to the spark," he told them as it was injected into his energon-stream. When he did that, Dead End adjusted his vision again to Ratchet, but this time actually kept his view on him as he checked his pulse. "It's higher. Still not quite good, but he'll not die," he announced.

"That's good," Bumblebee muttered, relieved about that, as Ratchet went on over to Nautilator and injected it straight into his neck. The Seacon, unlike Dead End, didn't react to it and Ratchet was nervous as he checked his pulse.

"Slight increase, but nothing more. I don't want to pump to much adrenaline in him. One syringe is the limit. If that doesn't work, just treat them like a regular patient, as the drug has already damaged him enough. They'll need to heal with Bradadrenax to keep their pulse rate rising at a slow and steady rate, Purania to cleanse their systems, and Egniriax to quicken the healing process."

"Well, I'm certainly not telling Bludgeon about Nautilator," Skywarp said.

"You think he really cares about Nautilator?" Bumblebee questioned him.

* * *

"Yes, I guess you can say I care about him, in the loosest of terms," Bludgeon told Drift as they were hanging out at the bar. They were searching for Swindle. They were just taking a brief break at the bar that _might_ last all day or at least to noon.

"What a rarity. Might as well call yourself an Autobot," Drift sarcastically replied with a pat on the back before drinking a glass of high-grade.

"Empathy isn't a trait that strictly belongs to Autobots, you know, and I don't even identified with them," he remarked while sipping his. "Shall I point to the Autobots who have lacked a moral compass, such as Flame, Flamemaster, and Pharma?"

"Exception, not the rule, just like with Decepticons," he answered.

"After experiencing and watching some of the things that have happened here, I don't understand how you can still say that," Bludgeon muttered. "Even I can realize that everyone here cares about other people here. The only one who doesn't give a damn is that infernal bear. All he cares about are his precious rules that he can use to punish us at every opportunity."

"I have no problem in saying that Monobear is the greater evil here," Drift acknowledged. "At least Decepticons had a point with their suffering. This bear is doing this for no reason other than 'despair,' whatever the hell that is in his delusional mind."

"Something insidious. We can't fall for the bear's temptations," he reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. I want to get out of here with Ratchet. And I've done enough bad things in my life," Drift murmured.

"If you think so… you should try and seek atonement from Beachcomber if you want to exorcised your demons," the metallikato expert told him.

"Huh? Are you kidding? He has no idea I'm the one to subject him to all of Shockwave's experiments and I rather keep it that way," he told him.

"You think he won't find out? I bet there are files on it and there are people out who surely know about it. People like me," Bludgeon murmured.

"What?" Drift growled, glaring at him.

"You will never find peace for your crimes until you confront them. It's what I read in sacred texts. My recommendations, if you ever what to find peace for your troubled soul, is to talk to Beachcomber about it," he told him.

"You're fragging kidding, right?" the swordsman said in disbelief. "I mean, I should just be glad he hasn't recognize what I did to him."

* * *

"I swear, I feel like I recognize Drift from somewhere. Someplace bad," Beachcomber told Jazz as they were done searching the casino amd were resting on a couch together.

"He was a Decepticon, so you might've seen him on the battlefield," Jazz recommended. "Or, maybe you saw him pre-war. Maybe you had a party with him," he said lightly with a gentle nudge to the shoulder and a smile.

"No, if it was something like a party, I wouldn't be having this sense of dread around him," the geologist murmured. "I have a feeling that he was involved in something bad in my life."

"Well then, it's repressed memories," Jazz shrugged. "Your mind doesn't want to recognize it, so I recommend that you don's." Beachcomber glared at him at that comment.

"You know what he did, don't you?" he questioned him.

"Head of espionage. I know a lot of terrible things," he said nonchalantly.

"Yeah. We saw that in the third trial," Beachcomber remarked. "Thanks for not telling me about my friend being trapped in his own consciousness thanks to a rouge personality that you allow the creation of until he was dead."

"Yeah… sorry about that. I don't intend to cause harm for any of my fellow Autobots," Jazz apologized.

"Does my memory of Drift have anything to do with you?" Beachcomber questioned.

"Nah, this has nothing to do with the Autobots here, unless you count inaction," Jazz told him as he look at the time on his electroID. "Almost twelve. Time to head back to the auditorium."

"Way to avoid telling me the truth," Beachcomber murmured as they set out.

* * *

Almost everyone was at the auditorium now, unable to find Swindle. The only ones missing were Ratchet's group, Dead End, Nautilator, the racers, and Smokescreen strangely enough. It was 12:05 now and he was still nowhere to be found. Just as Jazz was ready to go found him, he busted through the door with a glass container in hand that was divided up into two sections. "Right, sorry. I'll explain in a moment," he told them as he went to the stage and sat on the edge of the stage. "Okay, first off, you may notice that Ratchet's group is not here. That's because they are taking care of Dead End and Nautilator, who were found having overdosed on circuit-boosters and more than likely something else. Dead End is in good shape right now, but Nautilator is in critical shape right now." Every heard the door to the auditorium practically being kicked open and looked to see Bludgeon gone from the room. "Alright, anyone else want to go check on the two of them?" No one stood up at his question.

"Great, now then, as you may know, we're having an event tomorrow. A battle of speed between Knock Out and Blurr to see who is the fastest. What I'm opening is a betting pool," he announced, patting the container. "As you all know, we've been earning monocoins for our stay here, and really, there haven't been much to use it on without using a lot of it. So, what I'm offering is a way to make a leap up, if you're willing to make the chance."

"Seriously? You're opening another gambling ring?" Hoist asked, slightly amused.

"Hey, this one is legal. I even –ugh- asked Monobear for permission for this," he said in a dreadful matter.

"You're welcome, Smokey!" they heard Monobear over the intercom and everyone flinched at his sudden intrusion. When it was clear he was saying nothing else, Smokescreen spoke up again.

"First off, anyone calls me Smokey the Bandit or Smokey the Bear, I will destroy your gearbox," he threaten and everyone flinched at that. "Now, does anyone want to make bets?" They waited a few moments before they heard someone speak up.

"Ah, whatever. I see no harm in it," Beachcomber said, standing up and placing several coins in the left side of the container. "50 monocoins for Blurr. I don't expect Decepticons to overtake him."

"Oh, screw off," Wildrider said as he came up and placed even more monocoins in the other side of the container. "100 monocoins for Knock Out, baby. I know from him chasing me on the first day that he can get really fast." He glared at Beachcomber. "Call that bet, glitch."

"Oh, you're so on," Beachcomber agreed, placing another 50 monocoins in the container.

"Oh, things are getting interesting already. Anyone else want to place bets?" he asked the room. After nearly an hour, betting was complete. Unsurprisingly, people tended to place their bets amongst party lines. Decepticons voted for Decepticons and vice versa. Halfway through it, Smokescreen had to get another container to place more monocoins in.

"Right," Smokescreen addressed everyone as he looked the two monocoins over. "We have… honestly, I lost track of how much monocoins are being used here," he said clumsily. "Whelp, thanks for betting. Just a reminder, I'm open for any additional bets until 10 o'clock in the morning. If you need me, I'll be at the racetrack at the observation booth. Have a good day."

* * *

It was evening now, and Onslaught was tired. Everyone except him had given up on the search for Swindle. Everyone said Swindle was fined and he was just somewhere they didn't expect. If he was dead, they would've found his body already. He looked everywhere. He even looked through the entire maintenance hallway and he couldn't find him there. He trudged into the Med-lab, extremely tired, to see Ratchet and Bludgeon watching over Dead End and Nautilator. He must've called the other two off. The medic was looking over Natilator's hand while Bludgeon was sitting idly, looking over Nautilator's completely still form. Dead End was merely looking around and was the first to notice him.

"And so, the leader of the broken gestalt enters. What did we do to deserve you weak presence?" he sneered.

"Dead End, please don't antagonize him. Swindle still hasn't been found from what I heard," Ratchet murmured to him, trying to keep him under control.

"He's dead. Just give up. Someone will stumble on his body eventually and we'll have someone or everyone executed," Dead End continued his nihilist talk.

"Did his near-death experience somehow made him even more depressed?" Bludgeon questioned.

"I don't know how, but it did," Ratchet agreed. "It's almost impressive, if it wasn't so depressive."

"You would be too, if you know about the world like I do. It all ends in death," Dead End told them.

"Dead End," Onslaught spoke up, sounding broken, "I've already lost Vortex and Brawl. I've already lost so much. Don't bring me down."

"You're fault for making connections that will inevitably be severed," Dead End mummed.

"What about you, you hypocrite?" he questioned him.

"If I could go back in time and kill them before I ever I had to know them, I would've," he told him and that surprised everyone.

"Okay. Dead End, when this is all over, I'm signing you up for therapy, preferably with Rung, if he's still alive," Ratchet said as he heard Onslaught walking off slowly.

"Onslaught, just give up. It's all over. We're all going to die. Everyone one of us. It's just a matter of time now. Just a matter of time." Onslaught exited, the words drifting in his head, as he headed back to his room. Ratchet glared at Onslaught as he left before he approached Dead End.

"The drugs… have probably done something to your head. Just try to relax and you'll be back to normal," Ratchet told him.

"You believe this is not me?" Dead End murmured.

"This is too much of an exaggeration," Ratchet murmured. "This is not the version of you I know."

"You barely even know me."

"That doesn't matter. I know you well enough. I'll make you better," he told him.

"Hmph, how moronically-"

"It's not hopeful. It's realistic. I know from all my medical experience. When the drugs have all been flushed from our system, you'll be normal again," Ratchet told him firmly. "Just hang tight and we'll all be alright for now."


	68. Chapter 5: Circle of Dust

 

_Day 18_

"Ugh," Ratchet moaned early in the morning at five in the Medical Bay, cube of energon in hand, as he walked on over to his patients. He slept at midnight at the sleep spots in the mall and bought an alarm to make sure he woke up in a couple of hours. He didn't want to spend too long leaving them with just Bludgeon, who volunteer to spend most of the night watching over the two of them. Said volunteer was leaning against a table, a hand on the side of his face propping him up.

"Sleep well?" he asked him, sounding tired.

"Well enough to get me through the day. How are you handling yourself?" he asked him.

"I'm feeling weary, but it's no problem for me. I have spent many nights as a sentry, standing guard over a valuable item," Bludgeon answered his questions.

"The valuable object in question being Nautilator, I assume," Ratchet muttered as he read the vital signs of the patients on the screen hooked up to them.

"…It's rather unfortunate that he is," he answered.

"It's no surprise. It's easy to tell you two have gotten along probably a lot better than you should have," he remarked. "Dead End's vitals looking good."

"He'll be disappointed," he said. "I have been interested a little too much in Nautilator."

"It doesn't appear to be just interest in him," Ratchet noticed. "You came running in here when you heard he was in trouble. You care about him."

"Don't say something so foolish," Bludgeon said, insulted.

"Nautilator's vitals are failing," Ratchet said, worried.

"What?! Do something!" he yelled, standing up.

"Oh, wait. His vitals are fine. My fault," he remarked with a smile. At that, Bludgeon glared at him before he walked off.

"I'm heading to my room. Take care of him, Ratchet," Bludgeon ordered as he opened the door.

"Sure thing. I just wanted to make sure you cared about him. Thanks for confirming it." Bludgeon didn't offer a response as he left the room with the door closing behind him.

"Deception. I like that," he heard a voice say and looked down to see Dead End looking at him, interested.

"You were listening?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Yes. I've been up for a few minutes, but I haven't said anything, because Bludgeon doesn't interest me," the cynic told him. "However, the deception was nice to hear."

"I had to get the truth from him, whether he wanted to tell me or not. It'll help him sort out his feelings," the medic told him.

"Is Nautilator actually doing better?" Dead End questioned him.

"Well, he's stabilized for now, pulse rate is okay, even if it's below the recommended amount, and he isn't having any seizures, which is always a plus considering the amount of drugs you and him consume," Ratchet explained to him. "At this point, it all depends on him."

"Then he's doomed," he remarked.

"I believe he will be alright," Ratchet murmured. "He deserves more credit than everyone gives him."

"He can't hear you. You don't have to lie to me," Dead End told him.

"I'm not lying. Frankly, anyone with the gall to actually be friends with Bludgeon deserves at least some respect," he remarked.

"Overblowing things, I see. Bludgeon has been effectively neutered thanks to Jhiaxus' death and looking for anything to feel the void, even if it's someone as pathetic as Nautilator," he told him.

"Maybe, but one has to wonder why Bludgeon chose Nautilator over everyone else here to be friends with," Ratchet pondered.

"More than likely, it's because Nautilator had no friends. Everyone else had someone to connect with. Bludgeon wanted someone all to himself," Dead End gave his theory to him.

"That's certainly a cynical way of looking at it, but it could explain why he was initially drawn to Nautilator instead of someone like Shockwave and Perceptor, who are a bit closer to Jhiaxus' profession," Ratchet agreed reluctantly with his explanation.

"Didn't think you had common sense," Dead End gave praise. "You're not long for this world."

"Ha, how funny," he sarcastically said.

"They like to go for the smart ones. I be careful around everyone," Dead End warned him.

"Right, well, if something's going to happen, it'll probably be today. Almost a day left until the motive is done," Ratchet reminded him.

"Anything happened while I was out?" Dead End asked him.

"Well, Blurr and Knock Out are having a race today at noon, if I decide you're well enough to go," he told him.

"No thank you. I think I rather stay here," he said with disdain. "I'll leave that to the idiots who find enjoyment in watching people go in circles."

"Come on, it'll be fun. Almost everyone's going to be there, including Wildrider," Ratchet told him.

"I don't think Wildrider wants to see me. May've said a few too many hurtful things to him, that wretched moron," Dead End murmured distastefully.

"Ugh, still need to make sure the drugs are out of that head of yours," he groaned.

"Don't worry, you won't have to worry about me for long," he comforted him.

"You think you're going to be murdered," Ratchet questioned, looking over to him.

"In a way, yes," he told him.

"What does that mean?" Ratchet questioned, walking over to him and staring down at him.

"You'll find out latter," Dead End cryptically told him. He glared down at him before walking off.

"I don't know what you're planning, Dead End, but I would advise against it. You're pretty useful during investigations and trials, and I would like you to stay around for them," he told him as he began looking through the anesthesia dispenser. It was a device attached to the wall that dispensed a syringe of anesthesia. There was five currently in there at the moment and he could make more just by getting some out of the cabinet and placing a syringe in it to suck some up before putting it in through the dispenser, putting it through the only hole, making the one dispense the most recent one.

"Someone has to be. All of you always wish for the best in everyone. You need me to give all of you a reality check," he reminded him.

"I'm a realist. You don't have to remind me that we're constantly forced by this tyrant running the place to kill each other," Ratchet told him as he examined the tools on the table. Scalpel, retractor, welder…

"Good to see someone is thinking correctly. Just remember, anyone can be a murderer."

"I know."

"And we'll probably be finding Swindle's body soon, wherever that is," he mummed.

"I don't know. If he was dead, the culprit would've left his body somewhere already and we would've probably find it during the search. I think Swindle has another purpose than just dying," Ratchet informed him.

"You're being hopeful again," he muttered, disappointed.

"No, I'm just saying he's using him to help with killing someone, although how, I'm unsure of," Ratchet explained.

"That… is interesting," Dead End muttered as his optics dimmed. "I think I'll sleep some more."

"Good. Can help drive out the drugs in your system," Ratchet said as he looked over his EKG. "The sooner, the better."

* * *

"Geez, Onslaught, you look like death," Beachcomber said as he entered the lunchroom. Everyone else had already come and go in preparation for the race at noon, leaving him behind for coming in late for actually good a good night's recharge. Onslaught, indeed, didn't look that good, considering his optics were dim, scratch marks and stains were all over him, and he was walking sluggishly.

"I've looked for Swindle all night, from here to the racetrack," he told him as he got himself a cube of energon and took a seat across from him. "I can't find him, no matter what."

"Dude… you need to rest," the geologist said, worried.

"I know… but I'm worried about Swindle. The only people who's helped me a lot is Blast Off and, when he's not busy with organizing the race, Smokescreen. They've both been around until three to help until they went off, I assume to rest," he told him as he gulped the cube down in seconds. "I need another," he murmured as he quickly retrieved another one and sat back down.

"Dude, go recharge. Seriously," Beachcomber insisted.

"Nah… I just need some energon and I'll continue the search," Onslaught told him as he took a gulp of energon, downing half the cube.

"…Look, you need a break," he told him with a stern tone.

"I told you, I-"

"This isn't a request, you are going to take a break," Beachcomber ordered harshly. That helped wake up Onslaught as he gulped the last of the cube before slamming it on the table.

"I won't rest until I find Swindle," Onslaught responded haggardly. The two glare at each other before Beachcomber responded.

"How about you come to the racetrack at noon, then?" he asked him. "Everyone will be there. Plenty of special energon to drink. Could be a great way to boost yourself," Beachcomber attempted to persuade him. Onslaught glared at him, thinking the answered through his sluggish processors, before giving an answer.

"Fine. At twelve, I'll be at the racetrack. We'll watch it together," Onslaught agreed to his deal, while scratching the back of his head. "I'll see if I can take my mind off Swindle, if only for an hour or so."

"Alright, good dude. I'll remind Blast Off to bring you along," Beachcomber nodded. "Stress yourself out too much and you'll drop dead."

* * *

"Right, there we go," Mixmaster murmured as he closed the container on the last of ten boxes, each of them in a variety of colors. "Drinks are ready. They just need to be transferred over to the racetrack."

"That why I'm here?" Skywarp questioned him as he stood nearby.

"Yep. Just transfer them to the announcer's booth at the racetrack and we'll store them there until around an hour before the race starts."

"Right. Better get started," Skywarp murmured as he grabbed the first one and warped off, leaving Laserbeak behind to watch him and his fellow gestaltmate.

"Looks like a good batch of drinks," Scavenger said as he looked through the containers.

"Well, being a chemist is also useful for cooking up some nice drinks," he told him as he began washing out the equipment.

"Yeah… I hope I can remember how you do it," Scavenger said longingly.

"I wouldn't recommend it. Some of these are quite complicated and requires precise measurements, otherwise, it tastes like the aft of a sparkeater. Frag, it may even be poisonous," he told him.

"Oh… yeah, you're right. I'd probably mess that up," Scavenger consented as Skywarp came back and got the next one before warping off.

"Yeah. Trust me, you need some practice. If you want, maybe I can give you a few pointers next time I fix something up," he told him.

"That… would be nice," Scavenger agreed. "Could help me get everyone's mind off murder."

"Hmph, are you still pondering the idea of all of us living here in harmony?" Mixmaster questioned him.

"It doesn't hurt to hope. Eight people have died for nothing but someone else's entertainment. I just want a stop to the pointless bloodshed," he explained morosely. "I just want to feel safe again."

"Scavenger… as long as the one controlling Monobear exists, we can never feel safe. So what if we never kill each other again, you think he's just going to let that happen?" Mixmaster questioned as Skywarp came back to repeat the process, warping off within a few seconds, leaving Laserbeak to look at the bickering couple. This was something of interest to it that Soundwave would've love to have to use later.

"It's something. Sometimes the best thing is doing nothing," Scavenger told him.

"Scavenger, people kill for all kinds of inane reasons. You think no one will act with all of these motives? Scavenger, how do you feel about the custom, miniature excavator that Long Haul and Hook built for you is on the conveyor belt, ready to burn? Huh?" he questioned him aggressively, which was reflected by his increased force at using the cloth to clean the glassware.

"I… feel terrible. I want to save it, but I don't want everyone to die," he told him as he clenched his head in anxiety as Skywarp quickly got another container and went off, trying to ignore them.

"Well then, you see why that peace of yours won't hold up. You may have scruples, but some of them don't. You can't just keep going about, hoping that no one else will do what the mastermind says," Mixmaster said as he walked away from the sink and over to Scavenger, getting in his face. "They will kill you and everyone else here just to get out, so quit hoping for peace and start hoping for a way to find the mastermind so that we can end his life!" he said in a subdued roar. Scavenger was still holding on to his head, looking down now to avoid his face, leaving the two in an awkward silence that were only broken by the sound of Skywarp warping in, observing the weird scene, and warping off with a container. After the third time, Scavenger finally spoke.

"I'm scared," he spoked at barely above a whisper. "Death… death is everywhere and I just want to feel safe. You couldn't let me feel that for just a couple of days before some other poor slagger bites it." His stance had change now. He brought his arms down and was now hugging himself tightly, scared for his life. Mixmaster couldn't help feel sorry for him.

"Scavenger, I'm… I'm sorry. I'm just trying to make sure you know that there is danger lurking aro-"

"You think I don't do that!" he yelled, putting a finger to his head and poking it. "In case you don't remember, I was assaulted! Every day I'm talking to someone, one of them could've been the person to have done this to me and I won't know it. Do you have any idea what that's like!" After that, he hugged himself again and placed his attention back to the floor. "I can't depend on anyone here. No one can save me if someone wants me dead. I'm too dumb to stay alive. No one will care if I die. I'm too useless for people to care about me. If someone- urk!" Scavenger grunted as Mixmaster grabbed a hold of him and started hugging him.

"Scavenger, please, stop thinking like that. All we have to do is find a way to the mastermind and kill him. Then we'll be safe for a long time. And if someone wants to kill you, well… they'll have to kill me first," he told him, hugging him tightly, shocking him. "You hear me? I won't let anyone else here hurt you as long as I'm here. No one." Scavenger felt happy, but he had no idea why. It wasn't just because of Mixmaster declaration. It's because he felt something he hardly felt.

He felt wanted.

Scavenger hugged him even tighter, glad to have someone caring for him. He had been neglected for most of his life, even among the other Constucticons. Now, he really felt like he belonged with some.

"You two are way too affectionate," they heard Skywarp and Mixmaster turned towards him to see him glaring at them with Laserbeak on his shoulders. "All the drinks are at the racetrack, so I'm heading out. See ya later," he told them as he walked out. Mixmaster looked at where he was before he attempted to break out, only to have Scavenger holding on to him. "Uh, Scavenger, you can let go now. Getting a bit awkward here."

"Oh, uh, sorry," Scavenger sheepishly apologized and let go. The two stood around in a uncomfortable silence before Mixmaster spoke up again.

"We should probably head to the racetrack and get ready over there," he recommended.

"Right."

* * *

"10 o'clock! All bets final!" Smokescreen yelled as he placed a lid on the container and walked on out of the observational booth. He could see Mixmaster setting up the drinks, Scavenger and Bumblebee setting up sweets they bought from the mall, Skywarp and Laserbeak flying around the area as he was 'sick and tired of not flying!' and decided to fly around the enclosed space, and Hoist was checking the racetrack to make sure that nothing would break apart from the spectator stands to the booths. Overall, today was setting up to be an excellent event. Nothing could go wrong today.

Which is why he's saw several other people expressing their worriment over the whole event. Smokescreen wasn't worried. He was confident everything would go well for once. He just had to make sure everyone felt comfortable, which was a bit of a challenge considering that they've had four murders within two weeks. Always a killjoy. But this was nothing more than a covert war between everyone, so it's like the past years of peace never happened. Or, to use a Earthen term, a cold war between every individual had occurred, everyone one of them waiting for the others to act. Pretty interesting, but also dangerous.

"Hey, Smoke," he heard as he saw Hoist coming on up.

"Oh hey. We can talk while I walk to my room to keep the bets safe," he told him as they walked the side of the racetrack together.

"Hey, Smoke, listen. I have to question whether we should do this while Swindle is still missing." Oh, yes. There was also that going on as well. That was also causing rising tensions. "I mean, it feels wrong to hold an event like this while he's possibly in trouble, maybe even dead."

"Now don't said that. If we haven't found him yet, he's probably isn't dead," he told him as he dodged a crate between the two of them as they crossed the white line on the racetrack.

"Maybe, but we still have no idea where he is," Hoist reminded him.

"Dude, I know. I was up late last night trying to find him. Onslaught and Blast Off can attest to that. Pretty tiring," he muttered as he looked at the two opposing stands. "Hey, how about we have the two opposing stands each represent a side."

"That's something I also had to talk to you about. You see, the ones by the starting line are extremely rusted. I'm afraid to place so many people on there," Hoist told him.

"What about the other one?" he asked him.

"Slightly rusted, but it isn't dangerous."

"Alright, then we'll use that one. Cordon the other one to make sure no one gets on it. I don't want a disaster today," Smokescreen told him.

"Both of us. I'll make sure no one will be going up there. Keep everyone's money safe in your room," he told him.

"Oh, trust me. I will."

* * *

"Right, checkup done. Both of you are primed and ready for racing," Ratchet told Knock Out and Blurr as they were sitting at the table together.

"Great. Primed and ready to win this whole thing," Blurr bragged as he got up the table.

"That confidence of yours will be broken soon," Knock Out remarked as he got up with him.

"Really? You've come short every time we've had a practice run. That ego of yours is preventing you from seeing the obvious outcome," Blurr laughed at his claimed.

"Practice rounds don't matter. Only the actual race does, where you may have a few unfortunate things happen to you," he reminded him.

"Hey," Ratchet interrupted. "Just a reminder, I want a good, clean race. I've been called in for some nasty disasters at racetracks and they can be pretty ugly."

"Relax, there may be a few bumps or two, but most of the race will be spent him behind me," Blurr calmed him as he give Knock Out a playful tap on his side with his elbow.

"I believe I'll give you a better fight than you think," Knock Out responded as the two walked on out. "I want you to see me win, Ratchet!"

"I'll be there," Ratchet responded.

"Are you telling the truth?" he heard Dead End asked and looked over to him glaring at him.

"Of course. I am interested in who's going to win, plus I got fifty on Blurr winning, although I haven't told Knock Out that," he explained.

"Hmph, a smart bet," he agreed as he laid on the berth. Ratchet could hear him moan slightly as he was laying there.

"Are you alright?" he asked him, walking over to him and checking him over.

"It's the back of my head. Could you check it?" he asked him.

"Sure. I didn't do so on initial inspection so it might be a good idea," he told him as he grabbed a hold of his head and pulled it up to reveal a large dent on the back of the head. "Oh, now where did you get that?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Get what?" Dead End questioned.

"You have a large dent at the back of your head. Looks pretty bad, like it was caused by a blunt object of a sort," he told him.

"Strange… I don't remember getting that," Dead End told him.

"Huh… let me go check on Nautilator as well," he said as he gently placed Dead End's head back on the table and went over to Nautilator. He lifted it up and found a large dent at the back of his head as well. "There's one here as well."

"Huh… we were probably attacked last night while under the effect of the drugs," Dead End figured out.

"But… why?" Ratchet questioned as he placed Nautilator's head back on the table.

"I don't know. I hardly remember anything that happened that night," he told him, confused.

"Well, someone bashed yours and Nautilator's head. You obviously saw something in your drunken state, but what exactly?" Ratchet questioned to himself as he looked at a digital clock on the wall. "Dammit, race's about to start."

"Go. You wanted to do this," Dead End reminded him.

"True, but I want to-"

"It won't last that long and everyone will be there. I'll be in no danger," Dead End told him.

"Yeah, I guess," Ratchet nodded as he thought it over before walking to the exit. "Alright, I'm heading out. Don't die on me while I'm gone."

"Unlikely, unfortunately," Dead End muttered as Ratchet walked off.

* * *

"Glad to see you could make it," Beachcomber told Onslaught as him and Blast Off arrived together.

"You're lucky. I had to basically drag him over here," Blast Off told him as the two took a seat next to him at the front, overlooking the white line.

"I just want to make sure Swindle's fine," Onslaught told him slugglishly as he was bent over looking extremely tired.

"Well, here, got some drinks for you," as he gave each of them a cup.

"And this is?" Blast Off questioned as he examined his purple liquid while Onslaught's was a red liquid.

"An energy drink for Onslaught and a nice tea for you, Blast Off," he told him.

"Hmph, how nice," Blast Off murmured as he took a drink. "Eh, it isn't too horrible. Guess I'll drink it."

"Right," Beachcomber said nodded as he drank a green liquid while Blurr and Knock Out were waiting at the starting line, ready to go and probably exchange final trash talks.

"Alright, Smokescreen here!" they heard Smokescreen shout through the megaphones around the area. "Everybody ready to get this race started?" A roar from the small crowd gave a yes. "Alright, this race starts on go. Now 3, 2- woah!" he shouted as they heard something crashing over the intercom. Everyone looked around, confused by the sound, when they heard someone else spoke up in a more annoying tone.

"Alright, I'm ready to get this race started!" they heard the high-pitched tone of Monobear resonate throughout the area, making everyone groan in annoyance.

"What are you doing here!" They heard Smokescreen shouted at him.

"What? Every announcer needs a co-announcer," he explained to him.

"But everyone hates you!" he shouted at the bear.

"Hey, either you're doing this with me or I'm doing this alone. Which would you prefer?" it told him. At that, they heard Smokescreen growled loudly in frustration before he spoke again.

"Right. Sorry everyone for the interruption, but we're back with me, Smoke-"

"Smokey the Bear and Monobear the Magnificant!" Monobear shouted. "We're the beary best of friends!"

"Oh Primus," they heard him groaned. "Alright, at go. Please be quiet for this one," he ordered as he prepared to countdown.

"Sure, thing, Smokey. We're equals here. Start the countdown!" he yelled as he finally went quiet.

"Okay. We're fine, everyone. We can endure this annoyance," he told them. "Okay, for real this time. 3, 2, 1 GO!" he yelled as Knock Out and Blurr drove off.

* * *

"Fifth lap. Both racers are pretty even!" Monobear told the crowd.

"A lot closer than I thought, but they have a lot more to go. Anything could happen," Smokescreen added.

"Geez, they're both going really fast," Bumblebee muttered as he watched them drive around as he sat next to Ratchet and Skywarp. They were both pretty relaxed as they enjoyed them driving around.

"Quite impressive, although expected. Knock Out is as fast as he looks and Blurr is a champion racer. If they weren't fast, it would be quite a disappointment," Ratchet told him.

"True, this is to be expected," he agreed as he looked over to him. "So, how are things between you and Drift?"

"Hasn't talk to me since I've joined up with Skywarp here," he told him as Skywarp shrugged.

"Serves him right. Guys is a bigot against every Decepticon here," he told them as he took a drink of a blue liquid.

"You guys should really talk to each other again. You guys are friends," Bumblebee told him.

"I will when he stops acting so petulant," he told him. "Seriously, he started this whole thing when I floated the idea that not all Decepticons are completely immoral."

"Fragger," Skywarp muttered.

"Really? Because I see him hanging out with Bludgeon all the time, which might fit the stereotype more than anyone else here," he told them.

"Probably because of similarities in specialties more than anything else. They are both highly skilled in bladed weapons and martial arts," Ratchet told him. "As much as he wouldn't want to admit it, Bludgeon is the one most like him."

"No surprise," Skywarp told them.

"Well, seriously, you should talk to him after the race," Bumblebee told him.

"I'll consider it."

* * *

"15th lap and Knock Out is trailing behind at a small amount. He can catch up if does pretty well," Smokescreen announced.

"Or ram right into him and send him into the crowd!" Monobear shouted.

"Let's try and avoid collateral damage," he muttered.

"As annoying as Monobear is, him and Smokescreen do play off each other pretty well," Rewind told Hound with a smile as they watched the race together.

"It is quite entertaining," Hound agreed with a smaller smile on his face.

"Yeah," Rewind sigh, not looking as happy before, something which Hound took noticed of.

"Hey, cheer up. Nothing's wrong for now," he told him while placing an arm around him.

"I know. It's just that… I still miss him and I'm actually enjoying something for once," he told him. Hound sighed at that. Fraggin' conjunx enduras.

"Hey, you gotta move on. Trust me, you can't just live on with Chromedome on your thoughts. Just relax and enjoy the race," he told him. Rewind glanced up at him before giving another sigh.

"Yeah, I know. It's just… well, you know," he replied meekly.

"I know and I assure you, when we get out, I'll find people to help you. There are groups out there for people like you, who can help you get through what they've gone through. Everything will be fine in the end," Hound told him, bringing him closer to him. "We'll all be fine."

* * *

"Lap 33. Knock Out is right on Blurr's tail," Smokescreen announced to the crowd.

"Ooh, this is so exciting!" Monobear shouted as one could tell just from his voice he was bouncing in his seat. "I feel like I'm on circuit boosters!"

"They are going so fast," Scavenger muttered as he watched them go around. "Wish I could go that fast."

"People are built differently. I've never seen anybody else excavate as fast as you do," Mixmaster told him with a smile.

"True, even if that's a much less popular thing to be capable," he said with a sigh.

"Scavenger, please don't act like that. Seriously, I've already dealt with it once today and-"

"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry," Scavenger sighed. "I overthink too much about my status in life. I should really stop doing that."

"Well, that's sure is the truth," Mixmaster sighed as he relaxed in his seat. "Just enjoy the show. Nothing's happening."

"Yeah, I'll do that. I need to relax."

* * *

"Lap 48! Almost halfway through and Blurr has led the whole way, but Knock Out is nearly neck and neck to him!" Smokescreen shouted.

"Ram into him, Blurr, and we could remove necks from the equation entirely!" Monobear shouted excitedly.

"Okay, there is something seriously wrong with you," Smokescreen told him.

"Knock Out is giving a better fight than I thought," Jazz said with some admiration. "Still going to lose, but he's not bad."

"His speed is admirable," Perceptor agreed.

"Right," Wildrider murmured as he looked around. "Hey, you think anybody would be around the Med-Bay? I want to talk to Dead End privately."

"Honestly," Perceptor said as he looked around, "I think you'll be fine. Head on out and talk to him if you want."

"Right, I think I'll go do that. Be back in a little while," he told them as he walked off.

"Do you trust him to go off alone," Jazz asked Perceptor when Wildrider was out of listening range.

"I think with Dead End, yes. He does care about him and he wouldn't want to jeopardize his life, I believe," he told him.

"Alright, if you say so. However, if anything happens to Dead End while he's gone, he's first on the suspect list."

* * *

"Hey, Deady! I'm here!" Wildrider yelled as he entered the room, but paused when he noticed only Bludgeon there with Nautilator sleeping soundly.

"He's not here. He's not with you at the racetrack?" Bludgeon asked him.

"No. What made you thing that?" he questioned him.

"I woke up at the mall and saw Dead End walking back towards here. I figured he was going to watch the race today," Bludgeon told him.

"Huh? But he wasn't there," Wildrider said as he scratched the back of his head. "Where is he?"

"Huh, strange. I don't see any reason for him to head to the repair bay or the casino, so he has to be around here somewhere, I'm guessing," Bludgeon muttered as he looked around the large place. "Five floors around the area, but I imagine he's still on this floor somewhere. Might try some of the operation rooms or the supply closets."

"I don't know why, but I might as well look in there," Wildrider muttered as he began his search, looking through the closest operation room and found nothing. He looked at the next one. Nothing. He growled in frustration as Bludgeon observed him going through the rooms. He looked down at Nautilator. He wasn't doing much better. He'll pull through, but it'll take quite a while.

"What the frag! Dead End!" he heard him yelled, sounding scared. He looked to see a door open. He ran on over and saw looked inside to see inside the operation room that shocked him. Wildrider crouched over Dead End laying on the ground, energon all around him. Behind them was an energon-stained knife and Dead End's severed left arm. He saw Wildrider checking his pulse and looked back up at him. "He's still alive. Get help!"

* * *

"Lap fifty and the two are getting aggressive!" Smokescreen announced.

"This isn't going to end nicely!" Monobear shouted.

"For once, I agree with you," Smokescreen muttered gravely.

Blast Off could see them driving neck and neck and they were indeed getting aggressive. He wouldn't be surprised to see one of them knock the other out of the race in vehicular combat. Knock Out was the main aggressor, taking a few small jabs at Blurr, hoping to knock him slightly off course. Blurr was holding on very well to the lead, if only slightly, but one could guess he were getting annoyed with his follower. That came to fruition as they were nearing the white long that Blurr rammed into Knock Out as hard as he could. Knock Out was caught off guard by the sudden hit and got way off and started flipping. He transformed mid flip and hit the ground roughly, near the white line, as Blurr kept going.

"Oh, boy! That was an excellent hit! Good one, Blurr! This must be really familiar to you!" Monobear shouted and Blurr stopped suddenly. He transformed back into his bipedal form and looked back at Knock Out. He had a few scraps and dents, but overall, he was alright.

"Hey, Knock Out! Start driving again! I don't want to win like this," he told him.

"Oh, you are a moron," Monobear muttered, annoyed.

"I agree. Blurr, my money is on the line here," Smokescreen said, equally annoyed.

"Hey, shut it! I hear something weird!" Knock Out yelled as he looked around. Blast Off looked at scene confused before paying attention. He did hear something weird as well. What was that? It sounded like a banging noise and it was coming from across the tracks. The only thing he could see there was the large crate.

*Crack!*

Said crate had its top broke open and Swindle emerged from it, leaning over the side, not looking very good.

"What the fuck!" They heard Smokescreen shouting over the speakers as was the general thought of everyone as they were all stunned into silence at his sudden appearance. All except for a couple.

"Swindle!" Onslaught shouted as he got up before collapsing forward onto the railing. Blast Off knew that lack of recharge was finally getting to him and he need to go get some sleep soon rather than continuing physically exerting.

"Onslaught, sit down. I'll get him," Blast Off said as he pulled him off the railing and jumped off. He walked over to him, walking over the white line, as Swindle looked on up, fear in his optics.

"No, don't! Bo-"

*Boom!*

Before he could finish his sentence, an explosion happened right where Blast Off was, engulfing him, sending Knock Out flying and shrapnel all around the area. When the dust had settled, people were screaming all around the area from fear, confusion, and injuries, none more than Blast Off, both of his legs blown off as he crawled away from the blast zone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe this is what one would call a wham episode on TV tropes (If I had a page). 
> 
> Also, it's chapter five and you didn't expect bombs to come into play? For shame. Happens every time.


	69. Chapter 5: Time of Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, I'm getting the hang of giving everyone the story air-time. About damn time. I'm sorry Bumblebee for sidelining you in so many chapters. I'm apologizing for my sins.
> 
> *Edit* I just realized I forgot to put Blurr in this chapter. Sorry Blurr!

Ratchet was laying is the stands, dazed. He just stared at where the explosion was, trying to process all of it. That didn't happen. That shouldn't have happen. All of it so suddenly. And Blast Off was screaming in pain with his legs missing…

Ratchet shook his head before getting up and rushing down the stairs. There were a few other people screaming, but a single glance was enough to determine that Blast Off was the one the most likely to die if he didn't step in. Bumblebee was easily the one who took the least damage as a piece of shrapnel embedded itself in his shoulder. Knock Out took a bad blow from the explosion and he could see some shrapnel in his face and upper body. Hound up in the stands was the one that was really unlucky with debris impaling him through his body and large pieces of metal cutting through his left thigh and shoulder, but Blast Off was right in the apex of the explosion. As he jumped over the railing, he could see that both of his legs were blown off right at the middle of his legs, shrapnel all over his body, and several of his fingers. There was no question who he had to help first as he jumped off the railing and hurried on over to him.

"Blast Off, don't worry, I'm here," he tried to comfort him, which was meant with Blast Off continuing to scream in pain as he looked at him, begging with his optics to help him. "Hey, can anyone help me! I need to get him to the med-bay stat!"

"What has happened?!" he heard someone yell as Bludgeon came on over to him and took a look at Blast Off. "And how is he still alive?" he yelled in bewilderment.

"Bludgeon, help me get him to the Med-Bay! If we don't, he'll probably bleed out," Ratchet told him.

"Look, I came here to tell you something," he began to explain.

"Unless it's someone's life is in danger, it isn't important," Ratchet briskly blew him.

"That's the thing! Me and Wildrider found Dead End, still alive, in one of the operation rooms with his arm cut off!" Bludgeon told him.

"What?!" Ratchet questioned, thinking this through. Someone else was maimed that wasn't because of the bombing. How could the timing be possibly worst? As he thought it through, he went back into doctor mode. "Is it just the arm?" he questioned.

"Yes, but we have no idea how long he's been bleeding," he answered. "At most, it's probably been 15 minutes."

"Dammit. Look, help me out with Blast Off first and I'll deal with Dead End when I get there while you help out with the others," Ratchet told him.

"Right," Bludgeon nodded as he quickly lifted him up and headed to the Med-bay. As Ratchet was about to leave as well, he saw Jazz rushing over to him.

"Ratchet, what do you need us to do?" he quickly asked him, getting straight to the point.

"Right now, I need you to check on everyone injured to make sure if they're alright and attempt to lead them to the Med-Bay," he told him quickly.

"Right, I'll go check on Knock Out. Take care of Blast Off," he told him as he hurried off to Knock Out's location, who was still screaming for help. He got that out of his mind as he saw Smokescreen running down the steps of the announcer's booth and over towards Swindle. He ignored that as he headed out of the VOF and made his way into the Med-Bay. Inside, he could see Bludgeon had put Blast Off on the nearest slab to writhe about and he could see Dead End placed on a slab a bit away from him, indeed missing an arm and bleeding, with Wildrider next to him.

"Hey, doc, you're going to help him?" Wildrider questioned, indicating Dead End, who was awake.

"I'm fine Wildrider. Just head on out," the cynic said, sounding groggy.

"Dead End, shut up. You're getting checked out," he told him.

"I will once I help out Blast Off here. He's dealing with more than just a missing arm," Ratchet told him as he went to get a syringe of the anesthesia and headed on over to Blast Off. Wildrider glared at him before turning back to Dead End and keeping his head down, his back to them. Ratchet quickly injected it into him to calm his thrashing form at the neck. At that, Blast Off weak yells became louder as his body started calming down. "Blast Off, don't worry. It's just anesthesia to knock you out while I fix your wounds," he told him. Blast Off continued to struggle about before he grabbed a hold of Ratchet upper arm, staring at him with his orange optics in pain. "Blast Off, please calm down, it'll be- ugh!" he yelled as Blast Off coughed energon in his face before his arm went limped. Ratchet wiped the energon off his face before going over to check his pulse. After a minute, he sighed as he took it off and looked up at the digital clock.

"Time of death: 12:47," he murmured in regret. Bludgeon looked at him inquisitively and began to ask something when he heard something

*Ding!* *Dong*

"A body has been found. A quick period of investigation will occur before a class trial."

Bludgeon kept quiet at that as he realized that he was correct. There was no saving Blast Off. Ratchet got through it quickly and hurried on over to Dead End to assess the damage. Indeed, his arm was cut off at a little below the shoulder, leaving only a few severed wires behind that used to help connect it and a tourniquet right above the cutoff point. "What have you done?" Ratchet asked Wildrider.

"Nothing much," he muttered. "Just brought him in here."

"You didn't apply the tourniquet to prevent bleed out?" Ratchet questioned.

"Nah, that was already on him when we found him," he answered.

"I can confirm that," Bludgeon told him, walking over to the duo and standing over everyone with his arms crossed, upset at having to go to another trial. "I did found it odd, but it helped Dead End get through the bleeding. He was also briefly unconsciousness when we found him, but as you can see, he is up now."

"Huh, strange," Ratchet murmured before he grabbed a welder and went to work, only to have Dead End keepe him off with his one good arm.

"No, I'm fine," told him deliriously.

"Gah, Bludgeon, give me a shot of the anesthesia," Ratchet ordered and he did so quickly, rushing to grab a syringe before handing it off. Ratchet used it to at his neck as Wildrider kept his arm down. Dead End looked at Ratchet with a look of confusion on his face before his optics went out and he laid limp. Ratchet took a quick pulse to confirm he was still fine and went to work with the welder. After a couple of minutes, he was done closing the wound and took off the tourniquet before wrapping the stump in bandages to keep it safe from technopathogens. "Right, he should be good. Just let him heal and he'll be fine," Ratchet told him.

"At least that's one more person that we don't have to worry about," Bludgeon muttered.

"Correct, but that still leaves the others," Ratchet reminded them. "I'll have to prepare for them. Bludgeon, head on out and make sure everyone can get here where it's uncontaminated."

"Understood," he agreed, leaving the area. Ratchet left Dead End behind and prepared the slab for the next patient as Wildrider pace around nervously, muttering to himself. Ratchet guessed that he was wondering what happened to Dead End. He was too. Almost everyone was at the racetrack, so the actual number of people who could've done it was low. If anyone wanted to attack him, now was a terrible time. It didn't make sense to attack him now when so many people had alibis for the assault. It all made no sense.

* * *

"Holy scrap, Knock Out, you don't look good," Jazz muttered as he looked him over. His upper body had a bunch of burned marks and he had several wounds there from shrapnel. However, it wasn't as bad as his face as a large piece of metal embedded itself at his head from above the right optic down to the left side of his jaw. Not even a buffer could fix that if he survived that.

"Get me to the med-bay!" Knock Out could barely yell at him.

"Right, right," Jazz murmured as he grabbed his arm and put it over his shoulders and started lifting him up, which earned more yells from Knock Out.

"Stop, stop, stop!" he yelled and Jazz did so, laying him back down gently.

"Where does it hurt?" Jazz asked him, before adding hastily, "aside from the obvious."

"Ugh, my spinal strut. I think it's… slightly misaligned from the impact of the explosion. It'll right itself after a while, but for now, it makes… it extremely difficult to bend," he self-diagnosed himself under labored breathing. "You're going to have to either carry me under my back or get someone to help you carry me on both side."

"Can't I just-"

"No. Right now, it could… bend the wrong way to any wrong usage of it," he told him. "I recommend the latter form of carrying me."

"Alright, I'll go check on everyone else. See if I can find anyone to help out. Just-"

*Ding! Dong!"

"A body has been found. A quick period of investigation will occur before a class trial."

Jazz felt fear in his heart and he could see in Knock Out's optics that he was scared too. Someone had just died and they would have to go to another trial to fight for their lives. And the time they need to investigate it was being spent trying to make sure people didn't die from their wounds.

"Quick, hurry up-" Knock Out gave a ragged cough before speaking again, "before you have to investigate my death too."

"Right, moving," he told him as he headed on off to the nearest people, that being Smokescreen and Swindle. Swindle was laying against the crate that he was held in, his legs curled up with his arms wrapped around them, while Smokescreen was crouched next to him, trying to take care of him. "Hey, how are the two of you?" he asked them as he reached them.

"Swindle… isn't doing good," he told him simply, and Jazz could now hear Swindle chanting something to himself in a low tone.

"Can't feel him. Can't feel him. Can't feel him…," he repeated over and over to himself and Jazz realized exactly what he was implying. Blast Off…

"Smokescreen, try to take care of him. I believe he is grieving," he ordered the gambler.

"Right, I'll see what I can do. If you see Onslaught, send him over here. He could help out with Swindle," he told him.

"Right, I'll see if he's able to come," Jazz agreed as he walked off back to the stands to check on everyone. He could immediately see that several people who were tending to Hound, and Onslaught was sitting, looking defeated, with Beachcomber next to him, trying to comfort him. And coming towards him was Skywarp, looking extremely ticked, holding something in his hand.

"Who the frag would place a bomb at the racetrack?!" he yelled out, and Jazz finally noticed that it was Laserbeak in his hands, one of his wings severed halfway through with energon dripping from it.

"How's Laserbeak?" Jazz asked, looking him over.

"Fine enough. It didn't hit anything major, but if someone doesn't fix this wound soon, his ability to fly will definitely be hampered. Trust me, that happened to me once and it was a glitch to get back in the thick of things and fly straight," he told him

"Well, Ratchet is in the med-bay right now," he answered.

"Right, I'll head there right now," Skywarp told him.

"Wait," Jazz halted him, thinking of something. "You think you can take Knock Out with you?"

"Knock Out? What about him- ooooh yeah," he cringed when he saw him. "Alright, I'll see if I can get him there. No need to have any more casualties."

"Good. Head on out," Jazz ordered and Skywarp did so, heading on over to Onslaught and Beachcomber. He climbed up the stairs and walked on over to the two at the front near the center. "Hey, Onslaught, are you okay?" he asked him and was met with silence as he kept his head down.

"He's… not doing well," Beachcomber told him. "Lack of recharge and Blast Off's… _you know_ has really gotten to him." Jazz sighed at that. Of course, he would be affected Blast Off's death as well. He wanted to give him time to grieve, but right now, Swindle needs him and vice versa.

"Onslaught, listen to me," Jazz ordered, grabbing his head to make him stare at him, surprising the commander. "Right now, Swindle is catatonic and needs you support. You two are the only ones of your gestalt left and you need to take care of each other."

"Why?" he questioned him, his tone surprising the spy. He sounded so helpless. "I've failed. All I've done since I've been here is the perfect example of a failure. Every plan I've had has failed. Most of the people I've cared for has died. One of them I convicted after he murdered the other, the only thing you could possibly say I've done right, since it was either Brawl or everyone else. Even then, maybe I should've let him go. That way, at least one of us would've made it out of this alive." Holy. Frag. Onslaught was so guilt-ridden over the whole thing. Still, there had to be something to get him back, at least temporarily.

"So, you're just going to sit there while Blast Off's killer walks around among us," Jazz accused him, gaining Onslaught's attention. "They're around here, faking their sympathy, helping out, while they're the one responsible for all of this. Do you really want him to get out for killing Blast Off?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Jazz was disappointed by his answer. "I don't see the point in trying to figure it out. Knowing my luck, I bet Swindle actually planted the bomb and-"

*Clang!*

A loud noise rung out as Beachcomber slapped Onslaught across the face harshly, surprising both of them. He's never been one for violence. "Are you serious? Have you paid any attention to how Swindle has been acting these past few days? That Jazz said he was catatonic? Do you really think he could kill someone and live with the guilt of it?" Beachcomber bluntly asked him. He gazed at the small, angry geologist in shock at his confrontational nature.

"Uh, well, um, he could, uh, possibly, uh," Onslaught fumbled with his words only to meet with an even more intense glare from the small bot. "Alright, fine, I don't think he planted it, but he did knew about it."

"Hmm, that is right," Beachcomber muttered.

_*Crack!*_

_Said crate had its top broke open and Swindle emerged from it, leaning over the side, not looking very good._

_"What the fuck!" They heard Smokescreen shouting over the speakers as was the general thought of everyone as they were all stunned at his sudden. All except for a couple._

_"Swindle!" Onslaught shouted as he got up before collapsing forwardonto the railing. Blast Off knew that lack of recharge was finally getting to him and he need to go get some sleep soon rather than continuing physically exerting._

_"Onslaught, sit down. I'll get him," Blast Off said as he pulled him off the railing and jumped off. He walked over to him, walking over the white line, as Swindle looked on up, fear in his optics._

_"No, don't! Bo-"_

_*Boom!*_

"It did sounded like he was going to say bomb," Jazz agreed. "The only way we can know for sure is to get him out of his catatonic state."

"Ugh… I'll go check on him, see if I can get him to speak up," Onslaught confirmed, standing up. "Might as well see if I can do something right?" He headed on out of the stands, leaving the two behind.

"I'll stick with him, make sure he doesn't get completely cynical," Beachcomber told Jazz as he headed out.

"Right, good. He sounds like he's going to need it," Jazz agreed as the two separated and he headed on to the largest group. He could see Rewind, Mixmaster, and Scavenger crowded around Hound, trying to help him out. It was hard to move him from his seat thanks to the metal rod impaling him through the upper left side of his chest. If he had to guess, it probably came from the racetrack. Along with that, his left shoulder and thigh were bleeding quite severely from metal pieces going through them. "Wow, Hound, you don't look good," Jazz murmured when he saw him.

"No scrap!" Hound yelled out harshly to him in pain. He was gripping the metal rod in pain with his right hand while his left was limp.

"I sent Bumblebee to get some welders, cutters, cauterizers, and bandages from the Med-bay. Getting him off the rod will be dangerous, especially as he's still bleeding," Mixmaster told him. "We have to close his wounds before we get it out, otherwise we risk him bleeding from so many areas."

"Yeah. I don't know how good I am, but I believe I can do it," Scavenger told him.

"Please, you have to! We can't let him die like this," Rewind shouted at him.

"Way to not make me nervous," he muttered, wringing his hands nervously.

"Sorry," Rewind muttered guiltily, scratching the back of his head, which intrigued Jazz.

"Rewind, how are you feeling?" Jazz asked him, making him confused.

"Huh, why are asking that?" he wondered.

"You seem to be acting a little guilty," he told him.

"It's because I pushed him out of the way of the debris," Hound answered him. "When the explosion happened, I instinctively pushed him behind the stands, getting these wounds for my trouble."

"Well, you did risk yourself to save my life. Now look at you," Rewind reminded him.

"This rod in me was aiming for your head! If I didn't move you put of the way, this rod would've taken your head off," he responded quickly.

"I still should've been able to protect myself. Not get you injured because you're saving me," Rewind ranted, disappointed in himself.

"Hey, everyone!" Bumblebee yelled as he came on over to the group with the welders, forceps, and bandages and placed them on the seats for them to use. Scavenger quickly grabbed a welder and a role of bandages and got to work closing his thigh wound, which was slightly bigger. AS he was getting to work, Jazz walked on over to Bumblebee, who was busy patching himself instead, having a forcep in his hand as he was about to dig through his wound.

"Thanks Bumblebee. Good thing you are fast," Jazz murmured.

"Yeah," he muttered as he inserted it into the wound and cringed slightly from it.

"Woah, woah, you should let Ratchet look at that," Jazz advised him.

"Nah, I can handle it. Not the first time I've had to patch myself up in the field," he replied as he digged through the wiring and energon until he happened upon it. Bumblebee gritted his denta as he tugged it out, revealing a piece of energon-stained metal followed by a piece of glass and place them beside of him. "Right, time to shut it."

"Wait, let me do it," Jazz said as he grabbed the wlder and went to work on his shoulders. Bumblebee stayed quiet, only humming in pain as he closed it. After that, Jazz grabbed the bandages and quickly wrapped him up. "There you go, all better."

"Thanks," Bumblebee thanked him as he relaxed in his seat, looking around suspiciously.

"Are you okay?" Ratchet questioned.

"Yeah, I'm just wondering, who would do this?" Bumblebee asked, confused. "I can get plain old-fashioned murder, but bombing? This is like a terrorist attack, not a murder."

"I don't know," Jazz murmured. "Opportunity, maybe. They learned about the race and got an idea in their head to take out Blurr or Knock Out with it."

"Yeah. Instead, Blast Off got hit with it instead," he murmured, looking disgusted. "You don't want to see what the bomb did to him. It's in the Med-Bay." It. Confirming he was dead. "They probably wanted to scare everyone too. Seriously, look at all the injuries we got. Add in Dead End's injuries, and it's madness."

"Wait, Dead End?" Jazz asked, shocked.

"Yeah. I don't know what happened, but his arm was lopped off," he told him.

"His entire arm?" he questioned him.

"Yeah. I don't know where it was. I didn't ask questions about it, since Hound's life is in danger," he told him.

"Yeah," Jazz murmured, looking over to see Scavenger taking care of him, still taking care of his thigh. Hound was going to have a lot of difficulties moving about if he survived all of this.

"Hey, found another injury!" he heard someone yell and looked further up the stands to see Perceptor and Hoist holding up a limp Drift, each one taking a hold of his arms. From what he could see, he had an abnormally large dent on the right side of his head. Probably a large piece of rubble that hit him in the head. He was probably unconsciousness and was going to have a concussion, maybe even damage to the memory banks or CPU. The two of them took him to the stairs and took him down the steps, to the bottom level, giving him a better look at it, confirming his suspicions, giving him a good idea of how large it was, being the size of a large fist, with some energon bleeding from it slightly.

"Wow, he took a nasty blow," Jazz murmured as he looked it.

"Yeah. I checked his neck and it doesn't appeared to have disconnect his spinal strut, so he has that going for him," Perceptor told him.

"Alright. You should just let him rest until he wakes up to determine the damage," Jazz told him.

"It's what I heard you do. We're going to take him to the Med-Bay to rest there," Hoist told them.

"Alright, head on over and stay there. I'll stay here to make sure Hound is okay," he told them.

"Right. Take care. We're going to need it," Perceptor murmured as he headed on out.

* * *

Ratchet removed the eleventh piece of shrapnel out of his chest and set it aside. Ratchet had been busy with Knock Out, removing all the pieces of shrapnel from his upper body before he moved on to head, which was a dangerous thing to take out. For now, it was safe to leave in his head, but he had to take that out soon enough. Knock Out was unconsciousness for now thanks to a shot of anesthesia, but he didn't know how long it will last. He could see Knock Out reflexingly gripping his hands in pain as Ratchet was digging through him. Next to him was Blurr, looking apprehensive as he gazed at his fallen rival. He must've been sad that him and Knock Out didn't get to finish the race, especially since it looked like he respected the red racer.

After a thorough search, Ratchet concluded that he removed all of the shrapnel from the wound and quickly closed it up. He had been going through each wound one at a time and closed them up after each run through with a cauterizer. This was the last one and he was glad to close the thing. None of the hit any critical fuel lines nor organs, so Knock Out was in the clear on that part, even though he was going to have quite a few scars to show for it. They might go away after a thorough buffering and more paint on it, but the really difficult one to get rid of will be the one on his head when he removes the piece of metal stuck there. He could tell that it was embedded deep into his head and if had been a bit deeper, it could've destroyed his CPU. He got lucky in the fact that he was even still alive.

"Bludgeon, I'm going to need your help for this last part," Ratchet told him and he was responsive, coming on over.

"What do you need?" Bludgeon questioned him.

"Right now, this piece of metal is preventing a lot of bleeding from occurring. I need you to pull it off slowly so that I can identify any cuts and close them shut," he said as he got a much smaller cauterizer out that was a small stick with one end letting a short-range laser out and the other being connected to a wire connected to a computer that showed the view at the end of the cauterizer which had a microscopic camera on it.

"Understood," Bludgeon muttered as he grabbed a hold of it and primed himself to pull it out.

"Right, begin pulling so that I can get an entrance," he ordered and Bludgeon did so, pulling it up slowly. He did so until a small opening made itself available and Ratchet sent the cauterizer through. He immediately saw small bleeding occurring at carious spots and quickly cauterize them. Ratchet continued ordering him as they work together to make sure everything that could bleed was taken care of. After a full twenty minutes, Bludgeon had removed the large piece of metal and set it aside while Ratchet finished it off and quickly closed up the wound. After it was done, Knock Out had a large scar above his shattered right optics down to the right below the left side of his jaw. Trying to hide that was a herculean task that not even Knock Out could cover, but Ratchet could at least bandaged that and the ones on his upper chest.

"Alright, Knock Out should be good, even though he definitely won't want to look in the mirror," Ratchet murmured.

"He should be proud of it. All great warriors have scars," Bludgeon remarked, crossing him arms. He displayed his thoughts perfectly as many small scars litter his body. Nothing that hit a critical place.

"Yeah, but Knock Out wants everything about himself to be aesthetically perfect. He's not going to be please when he wakes back up," he told him.

"Hmph, what a vain fool," Bludgeon muttered.

"Let's just be glad he's alive," Blurr murmured, finally speaking up. "Someone was trying to kill me or him, maybe even both of us. We're both lucky to be alive."

"Hey, Ratchet, you think you can check up on Laserbeak?" Skywarp questioned them from a few slabs back. "I brought Knock Out here, so you can trade right?"

"Yeah, sure," Ratchet assured him as he went on over to the two and quickly checked up on him. Indeed, the left wing was cut open and severed in half at the connection between the wing and the body. "Right, guess I'll weld it shit and bandage it up. Sorry Laserbeak, you won't flying for a while," apologized to the pet, making it give sad whirrs.

"Hey, it'll be alright. Could've been a lot worst," Skywarp comforted him.

"Right, this is going to be painful. Want a shot of anesthesia?" he questioned the pet which gave a beep in response.

"That's a yes," he answered.

"Right," Ratchet murmured as he quickly got a shot and injected it into Laserbeak's energonstream at the neck. Within a minute, the pet was asleep and Ratchet went to work. He quickly weld the wing back to the body and quickly added the bandages to the pet.

"Alright, thanks Ratchet," Skywarp thanked as he softly patted Laswerbeak's head. "Soundwave would've haunt me from the grave if I let him die."

"Right. Glad to help," Ratchet nodded as he turned his attention around the room to Perceptor and Hoist standing together and blocking his view of who was on the medical slab. He went on over to the slab and was surprised to see Drift on there with a large dent in his head.

"Hey, Ratchet. Drift was hit with a large chunk of rubble and we took him here," Hoist told him.

"Right," he murmured as he grabbed some bandages. "Have you check his spinal column?"

"Yes. It's still connected, so we're good on that end?" Perceptor told him.

"Good," he mummed as he wrapped his head wound up. "It best to just wrapped it up and let the bleeding heal on its own. When he wakes up, I'll have to check him for a concussion."

"Right," he nodded.

"Is there anyone else that requires my attention?" Ratchet questioned him. Looking around, he could think of one.

"There's Hound, but he's still pinned to the stands thank to a metal rod," he told him.

"Scavenger is currently at work on him. You should probably head on over to him and help out," Hoist told him.

"I'll head on over," he said as he was about to get some welder and bandages only to hear the door opened and look back there. To his surprise, he saw Scavenger and Mixmaster bring him inside, each taking a hold of one of his arms, his leg and shoulder fixed up, with Rewind in tow. That was good, but the metal rod was still stuck in him. They appeared to had cut part of the one poking out from his back in order to free him from the stands.

"Hey there, Ratchet," Mixmaster greeted him as they led Hound to the nearest slab and laid him on it sideways on his right side, helping to relief pressure on his left side.

"Holy frag, that's a nasty wound," Ratchet murmured as he went ahead and grabbed the anesthesia to sedate him. He walked on over to the patient and stood over Hound, who was looking, who had Rewind holding on to his hand and talking to each other.

"I'll be fine," Hound assured Rewind weakly as he laid on the slab. "I survived this whole damn war, I can survive a bombing."

"I know… I just worry too much. You understand, don't you?" he questioned him.

"Yeah, but I'll survive if I made it this far," he told him as he shift his gaze over to Ratchet. "Ready to knock me out?"

"If you are," he responded.

"Alright, do it," he said as he let go of Rewind. Ratchet nodded as he went over and injected it into his neck cables, sending him to recharge mode in a minute. Rewind backed off as Ratchet went to work, cutting the back of the rod off, only leaving a small amount of it left.

"Right, Bludgeon, know what we did with Knock Out?" he asked the metallikato expert who was standing nearby

"Yes, I do," he replied, walking over to Hound's front, knowing what his next request would be.

"I need you to pull the rod out slowly while I cauterize any openings," he said as he got the gear from before out.

"On your command," he said as he grabbed a hold of it and prepared himself to tug it out. Ratchet gave himself a minute to prepare himself before giving the signal and Bludgeon pulled slowly. Almost immediately that Ratchet could see Hound's insides, he saw bleeding and went to work cauterizing them. Bludgeon waited patiently for his call to continue as he quickly took care of the bleeding. After a minute, he gave the signal to continue and he did so, letting the two continue the cycle until the rod was completely removed and placed to the side as Ratchet was done cauterizing the wound. When that was done, a hole was left behind, leaving only a few wires hanging out.

"Right, let's add a medical pad, bandage him up and let it take care of itself. I'll weld a piece of metal to it later once they healed up," Ratchet said as he grabbed the two medical pads and quickly place it on each room and wrapped the bandages around them to keep them secure. Once that was done, he looked around to see everyone had entered the medical bay, all of them waiting around. Most of them were keeping their optics off of Blast Off's corpse, not wanting to see the gruesome sight. The only one who wasn't looking around was Swindle, hugging himself tightely and saying the same thing over and over to himself. It was a time of melancholy.

"Alright! Great to see everyone alive –well, except for Blast Off- and well –except for Hound, Knock Out, Bumblebee, Dead End, and Laserbeak," Monobear grinned as he saunter on to the center of the room from out of nowhere, earning the ire of everyone in there that was conscious and not catatonic.

"You got the file, don't you," Perceptor immediately guessed.

"Bingo, however before I continue, I got a few things to say. First off, I'm technically giving you an extension on your time, as if I just went by normal time, you would all be heading to the trial room right now, so give me a thank you for that." He waited for applause for that or even a thank you, but was met with a stony silence. "Alright, tough crowd. Now, second, I'm looking for who killed Blast Off and that's it. They're the blackened. Please keep that in mind." The group continued to glare at him. Duh, that was obvious. Find the person who killed Blast Off, which was the person who set the bomb. "Third, if anybody is unable to attend the trial, then I'll give them a freebie, provided they aren't important for the trial," he told them and they all gave a sigh of relief at that. No way would a couple of them be able to attend the trial in their current state. "Fourth, and most importantly, the Monobear File is the only thing that I'll give to everybody," he told them.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Hoist asked, confused.

"I'm saying that searching for evidence is now a free-for-all! If you find info, it'll only go to your electroID and no one else! You now have to rely on only yourself to find evidence. No more sharing amongst all of you. Be careful of who you share information to, as it could be given to the blacken to strengthen their alibi. Think someone's claim of evidence is slagged, present evidence. Do everything you can to play for yourself against everyone to reach the truth," he told them and that made everyone quiet. Until now, they had all been using the same system, sharing information to help reach to the same goal. Now, there was none of that. And they knew what he was doing.

It was time for everyone to play selfishly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this murder is going to be really entertaining for me. Hope you all enjoy the investigation and trial.


	70. Chapter 5: Investigating the Explosion (PT 1: The Medical Bay)

Ratchet kept quiet as everyone was busy calculating who they can trust and who they couldn't. They all wanted to trust to each other, but that was impossible when one of them set a bomb that killed Blast Off and maimed several people. They all recognize the person who set the bomb was despicable and had to be expunged from the group.

"Right," Monobear cut through everyone's thought as they were reminded of his awful existence, "I've uploaded the Monobear file to your electroID. Ta-da and have fun on your hunt!" With that, it disappeared, letting everyone be able to do their investigation.

"Right," Blurr said, the first to do so. "Let's all begin the search. Remember to keep an optic on everyone as someone here tried to kill me!" he shouted out and with that everyone dispersed, most of them heading to the racetrack to find any evidence of who could've planted the bomb. Ratchet wanted to just care for the patients, but they probably would've had a better chance of survival if he investigated as well, probably by asking the people around here for their testimony, that being the remaining Combaticons, Rewind, Smokescreen, Bludgeon, Wildrider, and Skywarp. Before he went over there, he took his electroID out, went to his truth bullets, and looked at the Monobear file.

**Ammo Gained: Monobear File #5**

**Victim: Blast Off**

**Location: Medical Bay**

**Time of Death: 12:47**

**Cause of Death: Exsanguination**

**Additional Notes: Victim was caught in an explosion.**

"Exsanguination," Ratchet muttered that familiar word. "That's one way of putting it."

"I would personally write FUBAR for his cause of death," Skywarp remarked.

"That's certainly another way of putting it," Ratchet agreed.

"Say, you wanna pair up?" Skywarp asked him. "I doubt we're going to find anything on Blast Off's body since it was a remote kill, so it's best to go look for info."

"Glad you're offering."

_Investigation Start!_

**Head Detective: Ratchet**

**Assistant Detective: Skywarp**

"Know anything that could possibly help?" Ratchet questioned him quickly.

"Nah, not really?" Skywarp answered. "All I was caring about was adding more to the betting pool."

"Betting pool?" Ratchet questioned him. "Yeah, I participated in that, although it was only because Smokescreen got in my face this morning and practically force me to place a bet. Say, think you can explain when everyone else placed bets."

"Yeah, sure. As you know, Smokescreen's hosted a betting pool for people to bet on the race between Blurr and Knock Out. He took bets yesterday afternoon allthe way to night and opened up briefly for the morning. He must've had the monocoins stored somewhere as the container was empty in the morning and I remember a lot of monocoins being involved, at least a thousand."

"Right, thanks for telling me that," Ratchet murmured as he added it in.

"You're really adding that?" Skywarp asked him.

"You never know. A lot of irrelevant things become a lot more important at the trial," he told him.

"That's true," the seeker agreed.

**Ammo Gained: Betting Pool**

**Smokescreen is hosting a betting pool among everyone for the race between Knock Out and Blurr with over a thousand monocoins involved.**

"Let's go talk to Smokescreen about this betting pool of his," Ratchet directed and the two of them head on over to the gambler, standing near the two Combaticons. "Hey, Smokescreen."

"Oh, hey," Smokescreen greeted him, a bit thrown off. "You're alright? I know you had your work cut out for you."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. What about you?" Ratchet questioned him and he looked over to the catatonic Swindle, his face furrowed into a frown, before turning back to him.

"About as good as finding your best friend in a catatonic state," Smokescreen told them.

"I'm sorry for that. I tried my best, but I couldn't save Blast Off," he murmured. "What can you tell me about your betting pool?"

"Nothing more than any one of the gamblers could," Smokescreen told them.

"Skywarp did tell me quite a bit, but where do you store the monocoins?" Ratchet questioned him.

"At the storage room, what else? No one else can enter my storage room except me," Smokescreen told them. "Safest place for them."

**Ammo Gained: Storage of Betting Pool**

**Smokescreen has placed the betting pool in his storage room to safeguard it against any thieves.**

"By the way, can you give me my monocoins back?" Skywarp asked him.

"Huh?" Smokescreen asked, shocked.

"What?"

"Someone just died, you uncaring asshole," Smokescreen pointed out. "Can you at least wait until the trial is over and we execute the bastard who planted the bomb?"

"Urk, fine. It's a bit too soon for that," Skywarp reluctantly agreed.

"Good. Once you're in the pool, you're in. No refunds, although no one won in this one. Good thing I kept records of who bet what amount."

"No one was able to withdraw their funds back?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Yeah. No one wanted to anyway. Everyone was certain their racer was going to win, but I guess they'll never find out if there bet was a smart choice or not."

**Ammo Gained: No Refunds**

**Smokescreen is not giving monocoins back until the trial is over. It's generally agreed that to ask for a refund now is an assholish thing to do.**

"Thanks for the info," Ratchet thanked him.

"No idea how it pertains to the investigation, but I hope it serves you well," Smokescreen sent them off as they went off to the Combaticons. The two halted and stared at them. Onslaught was giving a half-hearted attempt at trying to get a kneeling Swindle out of his catatonic state. Everything from his voice to his posture made it looked like Onslaught was checked out, along with Swindle's sanity.

"Let's just stay away from them for now," Skywarp recommended.

"Agreed," Ratchet murmured as they backed off to encounter Wildrider, who was nervously walking over to them.

"Hey, guys," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck.

"Got something to say?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Well, I know our primary concern is with the bombing, but I want to find out for sure what happened to Dead End," he told them.

"What? Come on, why should we waste time on this when we can investigate it later?" Skywarp asked, annoyed.

"Because, Monobear always cleans the place up pretty well while we're busy with the trial. I'm afraid all the evidence will disappeared," Wildrider told them. "I have a feeling I know what happened, but I need evidence to confront him with, preferably at the trial where he has nowhere to run."

"What do you think happened?" Ratchet questioned.

"Isn't it obvious? It was a suicide attempt."

"Suicide attempt?" Skywarp asked him.

"Yeah, because everyone had an alibi. The only one who might've done it is Bludgeon, but he didn't look like he cleaned himself recently. Just looking at everyone's alibi, he's the only who could've done this to himself," Wildrider told them.

"That wouldn't make sense," Ratchet argued. "His records point to many fail suicide attempt, always having no injury to shallow wounds. He doesn't have the backstrut to do it."

"I know, but these are extraordinary circumstances," he reminded him. "Who knows what could be going through his screwed-up mind."

"Ugh… fine, I'll see to it if Dead End's loss of limb was a suicide attempt," Ratchet confirmed.

"Great. I want to find closure for this, so thanks," Wildrider thanked him.

"It's no problem."

**Ammo Gained: Wildrider's Theory**

**Believes that Dead End's assault was a suicide attempt.**

**Ammo Gained: Alibis**

**Almost everyone was at the racetrack at the time of the assault and Bludgeon hasn't cleaned himself recently, leaving no one to be capable of assaulting Dead End at the time.**

With the conversation done, they headed over to Bludgeon real quick. "Hello, Bludgeon. First off, thanks for your assistance in the surgery," Ratchet thanked him.

"It is no problem," Bludgeon told them. "Now, what do you need from me?"

"About Dead End, did you see him before his assault?" he questioned him.

"Yes, I did. After I woke up in the sleeping area of the mall at around 12:20 - I know I said I was heading to my room, but I was honestly too tired to walk all the way there - I saw Dead End heading inside this building, presumably to the Med-Lab," he answered his question.

"So he was up and walking? He should've still been resting on the slab," Ratchet muttered.

"Well, he was walking about. And I'm sure I saw him carrying something in his hand, but I am unsure of what it was. Possibly a small container of some sort," he told him.

"Really? Skywarp wondered. "Did you find it?"

"I haven't noticed it since I've been here," Bludgeon muttered. "Might want to look around for it somewhere. If you bring it to me, I might be able to identify it."

**Ammo Gained: Bludgeon's Testimony**

**While in the sleeping area of 12:20, saw Dead End entered the triple-area building, assumingly heading to the medical bay with an object in his hands.**

"You may want to examine where we found Dead End. We found him in the operation room over there," he pointed out to a nearby room.

"Alright, thanks," Ratchet nodded and the two headed off to the room and opened it. On the floor, they could see Dead End's arm and the energon surrounding it with a knife in the pool as well. Ratchet walked on over to the knife and examined it.

"Kitchen knife. Serrated edge. Could cut through Dead End's arm if it goes through the right spot, but it isn't exactly one swipe and you're done," Ratchet murmured.

"So it isn't exactly a weapon to use if you want to chop someone's arm off in a fight," Skywarp concluded.

"Yeah. Probably involve multiple strikes or sawing it off," he said as he put it aside.

**Ammo Gained: Energon-Stained Kitchen Knife**

**Found in the operating room. Thought to be the weapon that chopped Dead End's arm off, although it wouldn't be done in one strike.**

"And of course, we can't neglect his arms," Ratchet murmured as he grabbed the arm and investigate the cut-off point. "Wires in multiple directions. Looks like it was cut off in a sawing motion."

"So that's the method. Anything else you can find on it?" Skywarp asked him.

"Well, the angle of the cuts are certainly weird, as it's consistent with a right-handed user, yet the angle makes it impossible for one to do so," he told him.

"Huh? So, how does that work?" Skywarp wondered, scratching his head.

"Simple," Ratchet told him as he grabbed the knife again and began positioning it with his right hand to cut into his left shoulder, matching the wound perfectly. "The wound was self-inflected."

**Ammo Gained: Dead End's Severed Arm**

**Wire directions indicate a sawing motion and the angle suggests it was self-inflicted.**

"You know, all this talk about Dead End has made me think about another piece of evidence that strikes me as very odd," Ratchet told him.

"What would that be?"

"Well, when Dead End was found, he had a tourniquet on his arm with energon splattered all over it. That is… quite odd," Ratchet murmured.

"Whatever. I know that it's pretty important to do if you want to cut an arm off," Skywarp muttered.

"True… but there's something off about it," Ratchet muttered as he wrote it down.

**Ammo Gained: Tourniquet**

**Wrapped around the stump of what used to be Dead End's arm with energon splattered all over it. Was on him when he was found by Wildrider and Bludgeon.  
**

"Huh. Looks like Wildrider was right. Everything we're finding is pointing to suicide," Skywarp muttered. "Honestly seems to be a bit too simple."

"I know," Ratchet muttered as he put the knife back down. "I want to find that container and see what's in it. Might explain some of it."

"Yeah," he muttered as he looked around. "I don't see it around here, so maybe it's in back out among the slabs."

"Good idea. Let's check the place out," Ratchet ordered as the two stepped out and looked around. The two looked around the slabs before looking around the chemicals for something that didn't fit. That didn't work until Ratchet shifted his gaze to the sink. "Huh, I think I found it," he said as he grabbed a small, glass container and lid and held them up.

"Why is that in the sink?" Skywarp asked as he stared at it.

"To be cleaned, obviously. I can still see some water droplets in it, which meant that someone washed it out," Ratchet told him.

"Think Dead End cleaned it?" Skywarp asked him.

"Well, he does seem like the one most likely to do so, but why would he clean it when he was about to attempt suicide? Seems a bit weird from his behavior," Ratchet murmured.

"Yeah, it does," Skywarp murmured as they silently contemplated it.

**Ammo Gained: Glass Container**

**Found in the sink of the Medical Bay having been recently washed.**

"Huh, looks like you're going to have to restock your anesthesia syringes," Skywarp noticed as he tapped the dispenser. "Only got one left."

"Not surprising. I had five of them before I headed out to the racetrack and I used a lot of them to put the patients in a recharge state before surgery," Ratchet told him.

"Huh, probably want to mention that. Just to make sure you got everything in order," he told him. "We need all that we can get to make sure the order of events is correct"

"That is true," Ratchet nodded. "It could help everyone else realize the order of events."

**Ammo Gained: Anesthesia Dispenser**

**Had one syringe left out of the five original one that Ratchet made before the race started.**

"Say, speaking of the injuries, could you write down the surgery notes?" Skywarp asked him.

"Yeah, sure. Could be useful to have if anyone has any questions about the injuries," Ratchet agreed to his suggestion.

**Ammo Gained: Ratchet's Surgery Notes**

**Blast Off: Legs blown off as well as several fingers with injuries from shrapnel and force of explosion. Injected anesthesia to calm him down so surgery could happen uncomplicated, but he died shortly after injection.**

**Dead End: Arm was sawed off, but tourniquet prevented bleedout. Administered anesthesia to calm his struggles before patching the stump.**

**Knock Out: Heavy damage to upper body and head. Administered anesthesia to seize his writhing as wounds were patched**

**Laserbeak: Left wing was sliced halfway through. Administered anesthesia to soothe pain as wing was fixed and bandaged**

**Drift: Large head wound caused by rubble. Bandaged with additional steps needed to be taken later when he wakes up.**

**Hound: Large cuts on left shoulder and thigh as well as being impaled through the upper-left side of his body. Scavenger fixed the thighs and shoulder in the stands before cutting part of the rod off to free him and bring him over to me. Anesthesia was administered before removing the rod and fixing his wounds.**

"So… is that all the info we can find here?" Skywarp questioned him.

"Yeah… unless you want to talk to the Combaticons or Rewind about the bombing," he told him.

"Well… Onslaught might have some info and Rewind could've recorded the explosion as it happened," Skywarp shrugged. "Could have something for us to use, even though both of them are decidedly not one to talk concerning the circumstance, especially since Swindle still looks catatonic," he muttered as he looked around at the three of them.

"Well, we can try Rewind. He might be a bit more open," he said as he look Rewind over, who was standing on Hound's slab and sitting quietly.

"Alright, look, you can talk to him. I'm not good with sentimental stuff. I'll show off the glass container to Bludgeon and see if he recognizes it as the container Dead End was holding," Skywarp told him as he grabbed the container.

"Alright, I'll go talk to him," Ratchet said as the two separated to their chosen targets. He stood in front of Rewind, who was looking down at Hound, and talk to him.

"Hey, Rewind, I'm sorry about Hound, but he should survive," he told him.

"Yeah, thanks Ratchet. You're a lifesaver," Rewind thanked him.

"Yes, although, looking at his thigh and shoulder wound, he'll probably need physical therapy for them. The wires and struts could be malformed. I would recommend it over just getting a new arm and leg," he told him.

"Right, I'll make sure to tell Hound about it," Rewind told him, not looking up.

"Right, well, I came to talk to you about the bombing. You recorded everything, so can you tell me anything you saw there that could help the investigation?" Ratchet questioned him. Rewind stayed quiet as he thought it through. Ratchet was feeling a bit awkward as he just stand there quietly as Rewind thought it through.

"You know, looking back at previous footage, something is odd," Rewind said, looking back up inquisitively.

"Huh? What would that be?" Ratchet questioned him.

"That white line at the racetrack representing the halfway point… it wasn't there before," Rewind answered him.

"Wait, what do you mean?" he questioned him.

"I mean that there was a grate there before," Rewind told him.

"Wait… there was?" Ratchet murmured.

"Yeah. That white sheet must've been placed the night before the night we found Dead End and Nautilator at the racetrack because I remember the white line being there the other day, but the grate being there the day before that. My footage proves it," he told him.

"That's… strange."

**Ammo Gained: White Line**

**Had a grate there, but was replaced with a white line the night Dead End and Nautilator was at the VOF.**

"Yeah… and that's not all that has change. The crate Swindle was stuffed in was by the checkered line at that same night, but today, it was by the white line," he told him.

"Huh?" Ratchet wondered. "Why was it moved?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure of it. If I recorded it, it's true," Rewind told him.

**Ammo Gained: Location of Crate**

**The crate Swindle saw trapped in was at the checker line before Nautilator and Dead End were found in the VOF, but at the white line after that.**

"Right. Thanks Rewind. This information should prove useful at the trail," Ratchet assured him.

"Thanks. Glad I can help if it solves who killed Blast Off and injured Hound," Rewind murmured as he looked back at Hound. "I already lost Chromedome and I couldn't stand Hound. They'll pay for this."

"Good, but remember. The killer may be our enemy this time, but we all know who force us into this situation," Ratchet reminded.

"Yeah… the mastermind, but his time will come later. Now, it's all about this bomber," he said as Ratchet walked away towards Skywarp, who just got done with Bludgeon.

"Hey, Ratchet. I talked to Bludgeon and he can confirmed that this is definitely what Dead End held in his hand," Skywarp told him.

**Ammo Updated: Glass Container**

**Found in the sink of the Medical Bay having been recently washed.**

**Bludgeon confirmed that it belongs to Dead End.**

"Good to hear," Ratchet nodded. "You know, Rewind reminded me of something when I talked to him. Dead End and Nautilator both had a dent on the back of their heads."

"Really? Why would they have that? They weren't at the explosion like Drift was," he asked him.

"I found them before the racing event, so they had it before the bombing. They looked like it was caused by a blunt object of some sort," he told him.

"Well, write it down. Sounds like good information to have," Skywarp ordered, "although I have no idea how it relates to the case."

**Ammo Gained: Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries**

**Both of them were hit in the back of the head by a blunt object of some sort on their night out to the VOF.**

"Right, we've held out for long enough. Let's go talk to Onslaught and Swindle and see if we can manage to get anything from those two," Ratchet said as the two walked on over to the remaining Combaticons. The stopped in front of the two to see Swindle muttering the same words over and over again and Onslaught continuing his half-hearted attempts to knock some sense to Swindle.

"Hey, Onslaught. I see Swindle isn't listening," Skywarp muttered, which caused Onslaught to look up at them.

"No, he hasn't. He's going to be in shock for a while," he told them.

"Yeah… Onslaught, you wanna tell us anything about the bombing or Swindle's kidnapping?" Ratchet questioned him.

"What can I say? I looked all day yesterday and didn't find him. Only Blast Off and Smokescreen went through most of the night with me," he told them.

"So, you three were up most of last night?" Skywarp questioned.

"Yes. I was briefly the only one searching the evening for a little while, but Blast Off and Smokescreen assisted at around 11:00. Blast Off and I searched the first building while Smokescreen took the much more wide open buildings. We did this until 2 o'clock. After that, Blast Off and Smokescreen were too tired to search and went to recharge while I continue the search. That's about all the relevant info about the search I can give you," he finished recounting.

"Right, thanks," Ratchet nodded.

**Ammo Added: Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew**

**Onslaught, Blast Off, and Smokescreen were searching at night from 11 PM to 2 AM with the former two taking the first building and Smokescreen taking the others.**

"So, I guess we can safely assume the bomb was being planted after 2 AM, but before morning, am I right?" Skywarp questioned.

"It would be a safe assumption," Onslaught murmured. "After 2, I was the only one up, so they could avoid me easily if they pay attention."

"Hmm, seems like the safest bet, so let's keep that for now," Ratchet nodded. "The bomber probably would've set it off earlier to take out Blurr or Knock Out while they were practicing for the race."

"So… I guess you should be on your way. Bomber out there. Will kill us all if you don't find him," he told him matter-of-factly.

"True. Thanks for the information, Onslaught. We'll find Blast Off's killer," Ratchet thanked him as him and the seeker walked off. "Right, I believe that's all we can find here," he told Skywarp.

"Yeah, I believe so too. We've pretty much asked everyone and everything related to the case," Skywarp agreed with him. "Let's head to the racetrack. I'm sure everyone there has found enough time to find something of use," he said.

"Right, let's head on out."

 


	71. Chapter 5: Investigating the Explosion (PT 2: The Racetrack)

The two of them entered the VOF and walked on over to the racetrack. They could see many people surveying the area and looking around, looking for any clues around the area, including the stands, the crate Swindle was stuck in, and the crater that the explosion made. Around the area was a bunch of debris, rubble, Blast Off’s legs…

“This place is a mess,” Skywarp muttered as they reached the area and the designated leader, Jazz, saw them come on over and talk to them.

“Hey, guys. Took you a while to come on out here. Busy with something?” Jazz asked them, sounding a little suspicious.

“We got caught up with Wildrider, who demanded we investigate Dead End’s assault as well as the bombing,” he told him. “I know, useless since he didn’t die from it, but he insisted on it.”

“Well, you found anything about Dead End’s assault?”

“Well, we think the assault is actually a suicide attempt. All the evidence points to it and nothing else,” Skywarp told him.

“Really? I knew he was a cynic, but I didn’t think he would do that,” Jazz gasped in surprise.

“I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the drugs in his system doing something to his head. Hopefully, this suicide attempt has gotten rid of all the drugs in his system,” he told him.

“We can only hope,” Jazz sighed.

“So, anything we should know?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Well, I don’t. I’m just commanding everything here to make sure everything goes smoothly,” Jazz told them. “Ask around for any info about what they found.”

“Alright, let’s head out, Skywarp,” Ratchet ordered and the two headed out to the crater where the explosion occurred and the Constucticons were observing the area, with Mixmaster taking the lead, standing in the crater and looking around. At their arrival, Mixmaster looked up at them from the crater and glare at them.

“Took you guys long enough. What have you been doing?” he questioned them.

“Busy dealing with the other case,” Ratchet told them.

“The other case?” Scavenger asked, sitting at the edge of the crater.

“He’s talking about Dead End,” Skywarp replied.

“Why? That’s irrelevant, considering Dead End is still alive,” Mixmaster murmured.

“Said that to Wildrider.”

“Ah,” he mummed, understanding it. “So, what do you wanna know?”

“Figure out what caused the explosion?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Hard to determine. A wide variety of explosives could cause this with a certain amount for the payload. The question is, how could they hide it? There was a white line here, nothing to hide it,” Mixmaster murmured.

“I think I have the answer to that,” Ratchet murmured.

“You do?”

“Yeah, thing is, this white line wasn’t always here, but a gutter instead. Rewind can confirm it,” Ratchet told him.

“A grate? Then, the white line wasn’t painted on, but probably a fabric of some sort if that’s true,” he said.

“Probably.”

“Hey, have you two notice anything weird in the past couple of days?” Skywarp asked them. “We have to find a time for when they planted a bomb.”

“Hmm, you know, I don’t know if this is relevant, but there was something weird about the archive doors. We haven’t organize a search, but we’ve noticed the timer was on when we were searching for Swindle and it wouldn’t come on until noon,” Scavenger told them.

“To go along with that, I checked in on it again a few times, and someone had been making continued use of it. The last time I checked it was this morning where it said it wouldn’t open until 2 o’clock,” Mixmaster told them.

“Huh? So someone was making use of the archives? But what for?” Skywarp muttered. “Could it have anything to do with the bombing?”

“I wouldn’t take any chances, so I keep note of that if I were you,” he told them.

“Knowing how these trials turn out, I wouldn’t be surprise,” Scavenger muttered.

**Ammo Added: Archives**

**The Archives were used during the search for Swindle and wouldn’t open until noon on that day and won’t open until 2 o’clock today.**

“Right, good luck. Keep us informed about your search,” Ratchet told them.

“Sure. Just come on by later,” Mixmaster sent them off as the duo left and went on over to the next closest person, Blurr at the center, pacing around in thought.

“Hey, guys,” he greeted them. “Found anything?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. What about you?” Skywarp questioned him.

“Cryptic, aren’t we,” the racer sneered before he replied. “.Not particularly.”

“Alright, so how about the race itself?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Well, I was pretty focused during the race, so I really couldn’t tell you,” he told him. “Going at such high speeds is pretty intimidating and gets one filled with adrenaline.”

“Are you sure you noticed nothing at all?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Well… when I was driving, I did felt that something was off?” he told them.

“Something was off?”

“Yeah. When I was driving through the white line, not the checkered one, I felt as if I was floating briefly,” he told them.

“You were… floating?” Skywarp asked, confused.

“Yeah. It wasn’t all the time. In fact, I think it was only on the far left that I felt this,” he told them, realizing it. “Yes, I’m sure of it. This was only on the far left side.”

“Okay… what the heck does that mean?”

“I don’t know, but thinking about it, I couldn’t get the feeling out of my head,” he told them. “It’s just a simple line, right.”

“It’s more than that,” Ratchet muttered.

**Ammo Gained: Blurr’s Testimony**

**Whenever he drove over the far left side of the white line, he always had this feeling that he was floating.**

“Right, see you later,” Blurr told them.

“Same,” Ratchet briskly said as they walked over to the stands that was unoccupied during the race, which now had the solitary occupant of Bumblebee, who was sitting on the railing and busy taking care of his shoulder.

“Bumblebee, how’s your shoulder?” Ratchet asked him.

“Fine enough. I can take care of myself,” he muttered as he took a more neutral pose. “Got some pieces of shrapnel to the shoulder. Nothing more.”

“Sorry I didn’t tend to you,” he apologized.

“Don’t. Other people had a lot bigger problems then me,” he told him. “Although, I would like you to take a look at this.” He got something out of subspace to reveal a piece of opaque, blue glass with dried energon. “Of the debris that landed in my shoulders, this stuck out.”

“Huh,” Ratchet muttered as he took it and observe it. “It’s just a piece of glass.”

“But would that make sense?” Skywarp muttered. “There wasn’t any glass on the field except for what’s on Blurr and Knock Out.”

“This isn’t headlight or taillight glass. Too thick,” he immediately told them.

“Probably a container for the bomb then,” Bumblebee said. “It would be my best guess for it.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

**Ammo Added: Shard of Glass**

**Bumblebee recovered a shard of opaque, blue glass from his shoulder, being inflicted during the explosion.**

 “You know, while I’ve been thinking about this, there was something I heard during the race,” Bumblebee told them.

“You did?” Skywarp asked. “We were with you and I sure didn’t hear anything odd.”

“Yeah, but I’m a scout. My audials are better than most,” he told them. “Anyway, I noticed something particular. Whenever the racers crossed the white line, I heard a beeping noise.”

“A… beeping noise?” Ratchet asked him.

“Yes. It was faint and a bit hard to hear thanks to the crowd, but I’m sure I heard it at those exact times,” he told them.

“Huh… if you insist.”

**Ammo Added: Bumblebee’s Testimony**

**Claims to have heard beeping whenever the racers crossed the white line.**

“Right, who to visit next?” Skywarp wondered.

“Hoist is behind the stands here,” Bumblebee told them. “Claims that he wants to see something.”

“Alright, thanks for the info,” Ratchet thanked him as the two of them walked behind the stands towards Hoist who was examining the structure of the stands.

“Why are you back here?” Skywarp asked him as he looked up to see what looked like a bunch of rust. Hoist was staying quiet as he was messing with a particular column keeping it up, annoying the two as he went along. “Hey, what are you doing?!” he yelled and Hoist merely turned his head towards them before refocusing his view on the column.

“I’m seeing if I was fooled,” Hoist replied in anger, which struck the two as odd coming from him.

“What do you mean by that?” Ratchet questioned and after another minute Hoist backed off the column and turned to them.

“This isn’t rust. It’s a special paint,” Hoist told them.

“Wait… what?” Skywarp asked, looking around in confusion? “Are you sure? It really looks like rust.”

“I’m sure. I’ve scraped it off to reveal the original paint underneath. Rust is a sign of corrosion, which doesn’t fit with this,” he told them.

“What the… why would someone do that?” Ratchet murmured.

“To trick me of course. They had to know that I would check the place to make sure it was capable of holding the crowd. If it really was this rusted, then it wouldn’t have withstand the weight of everyone on it,” he told them. “Tricky bastard.”

“So, these stands are safe to stand on?” Skywarp questioned.

“Yes. It was originally intended for this to be the one everyone would use, but because I found the ‘rust,’ everyone had to get together at the other one,” he told them.

“Hmm, what a strange thing to do,” Ratchet murmured.

**Ammo Added: ‘Rusted’ Stands**

**The stands by the checkered line had fake rust painted on it to fool Hoist into declaring it unsafe.**

“Right, thanks for the info, Hoist,” Ratchet thanked Hoist.

“I’m saying this because there’s two of you,” he told them. “I doubt you two would ever work together for a murder.”

“How cynical. It’ll be useful for the trial,” Ratchet told him.

“Don’t remind me,” Hoist muttered. “I’m heading to the repair bay. If there was a place to build the bomb, it would be there,” he said as the three of them exited the stands and he left them behind as they saw Jazz examining a line.

“Hey, Jazz. What are you doing?” Ratchet questioned him.

“I had no idea this line was a sheet of fabric,” Jazz muttered and the two of them could see a small wire heading towards a nail in the ground, keeping the fabric taut and ensuring it wouldn’t move. “It’s so flat, I honestly though it was just painted on.”

“Huh, intriguing,” he muttered.

**Ammo Added: Checkered Line**

**Actually a piece of fabric that almost looks like paint.**

“Say, have you seen Perceptor?” he asked them.

“No, I haven’t,” Ratchet answered his question.

“Huh. I saw him head into the forest and haven’t seen him return. I was hoping he just exited from a different area,” Jazz murmured.

“Want us to go look through the forest for him?” Ratchet asked him.

“Yeah. I don’t want anyone alone without being in sight,” he told them.

“Right, come on Skywarp,” Ratchet beckoned and the two made their way into the forest on the search for Perceptor.

“Okay, I feel we have a good idea of how the bomb was planted, but does this give us anything to use to figure out who could’ve done it?” Skywarp questioned him.

“I doubt we’ll find something to directly tie them to the crime this time. We’ve been lucky these past few trials, but I have a feeling the bomber took extra precaution to make sure nothing was directly connected to them, like the needle was to Chromedome or the pad was to Mirage, or the scrap that Brawl receive, or the wound Night beat got,” he told him. “A remote kill is probably some of the hardest to figure out in our current state as we don’t have the time to use most forms of forensic science,” Ratchet told him.

“Huh, guess you got a point, but Soundwave got taken down thanks to the smorgasbord of circumstantial evidence against him,” Skywarp told him. “We didn’t need the injector to prove him guilty, but it landed a giant nail in his coffin.”

“That’s true. So just keep your optics up and we’ll see if we can find a way to pinpoint the bomber,” Ratchet told him as he noticed something. “Hey, there’s Perceptor.” Indeed, Perceptor was there, looking at a device with his VOF out.

“Yo, Percy! What the frag you’re doing?!” Skywarp asked out loud and they could see him visibly cringe at the mention of his nickname.

“Ratchet and Skywarp. How are you two doing?” he asked as he turned to look at them.

“Investigating,” Ratchet replied. “You doing that as well?”

“Yes. Come over here,” he beckoned and the two of them went on over to them. “Tell me, what does your electroID say is the time?” he questioned them. The two looked at each other before taking a look at their electroID.

“1:35,” they both replied.

“Jinx!” Skywarp added, crossing his arms gleefully.

“I pay for myself and no one else,” Ratchet growled in annoyance.

“Right, same time I got. Which begs the questions as to why the timer here says 1:45,” Perceptor told them.

“Huh?” they both said as they checked the timer to see that he was correct, the timer did say 1:45. Ratchet looked the device over to see the dial did look to have seen a bit of use while the black button appears to be unused, having small, soft metal pieces on it from the plants.

“Why the frag would anyone do that?” Skywarp wondered. “Seriously, how does that benefit anyone in anyway?”

“I’m not sure, but it is an anomaly, since the last time me and Wildrider touched it, we pressed the black button to return it to normal,” he answered.

“Weird…,” Ratchet mummed.

**Ammo Added: VOF Time of Day**

**Timer was set ten minutes ahead with the black button untouched.**

“Right, where to now?” Skywarp questioned.

“Want to head back to the racetrack?” Perceptor questioned them. “Might have more information around the area available to us.”

“Sounds good to me,” he agreed and Ratchet nodded along. The three of them made their way out of the forest to the racetrack. A glimpse around the area revealed a missing person and someone left around. They quickly made their way to the crater where only Scavenger was, digging in the side of the crater with his hands.

“Hey, Scavenger,” the three of them greeted him from the edge of the crater. He looked up at them before continuing to dig, focused on his task.

“Just give me a minute,” he told them and the three of them looked at each other awkwardly until he heard him yell with glee. “Got it! Found the gutter.” The three of them looked surprise before bending over to see he wasn’t kidding. A small tunnel was seen, transporting any acid raid out of the area to somewhere else.

“Heh, how quaint,” Perceptor muttered as he stood up and thought it through. “Why is there a gutter here? I could’ve sworn this was just a white line.”

“We’ll explain latter at the trial,” Ratchet told him.

**Ammo Gained: Gutter Entrance at the Crater**

**Scavenger found it after some digging in the crater.**

“Scavenger, where’s Mixmaster?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Oh. He said he was going to the mall to search the store for something,” Scavenger told him.

“Huh. Must be related to the chemicals used in the explosive,” Perceptor guessed.

“Well, let’s head on over there,” Ratchet recommended.

“You can head on over. I’ll stay here with Scavenger,” Perceptor told them. “I’m sure if anyone can figure out the explosive compound, it’s him.”

“Understood,” he nodded and the two of them headed on out of the racetrack to the atrium area.

“Say, you think Hoist is in the repair bay?” Skywarp asked him.

“He did say he was going over there,” Ratchet acknowledged. “Might’ve found something.”

“What I’m thinking,” Skywarp agreed and two of them entered the area to see him examining a  gray grate. “Where did you find that?”

“In a corner, cover by a sheet,” he answered.

“Well, how exactly is it related to our case?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Come on over here and take a look,” he beckoned them. The two did so, unsure of what it was, and showed off the side of it near the end. On it, was flakes of paint in blue and red. “These don’t belong on here,” he told them.

“Blue and red paint flakes… what does that mean?” Skywarp asked, scratching his head.

“And these grate? Where does it usually belong?” Ratchet questioned.

“I sure don’t have the answer for that,” Hoist responded. “But this grate wasn’t here when I was last here a couple of days ago, I assure you. This is something that doesn’t belong here,” he told them.

**Ammo Added: Grate**

**Found in the Repair Bay with blue and red paint flakes on one side of it near the end of it.**

“Also,” he continued as he went over to the behemoth and showed off a spot with a lot of rust on it, “do you think this is rust?” The two looked it. It did looked like corrosion had taken hold of the behemoth, but they had a feeling that it wasn’t like that before.

“It does look like rust, but I’m guessing it isn’t,” Ratchet replied and Skywarp nodded to him.

“You both be correct,” Hoist answered as he grabbed a paint can by the handle and showed off. “Painted it on with this. Available for 250 monocoins.”

“That much?” Skywarp gapped. “It’s just paint.”

“It’s special,” Hoist told them. “Requires certain chemicals to give it the illusion of rust. Has a lot of uses for movie settings that need to make their place look ready to be condemned.”

“So you bought this?” Ratchet questioned him.

“No, I found it inside the behemoth. Someone was trying to hide it in here and I asked Monobear for the price of it, as much as I didn’t want to,” Hoist cringed before continuing on. “Anyway, he told me the retail price for it here. It’s certainly affordable.”

“That’s true,” Ratchet nodded.

**Ammo Added: ‘Rust’ Paint Can**

**A paint can holding a special paint that makes objects look rusted. Available for 250 monocoins**.

“Thanks,” Skywarp told him. “See you later,” he told him as he got ready to leave.

*Ding!* *Dong!*

“The investigation is over! Everyone head over to the cargo elevator for the long-awaited trial!”

“Aw, come on!” Skywarp yelled in contempt. “Seriously?”

“Guess we have no choice,” Hoist sighed as he headed on out. “Hope we have enough to figure this out.”

“Right, Skywarp. You head on out. I’m going to check on the patients one last time before we head out,” Ratchet told him.

“Alright, guess we have no choice,” he muttered as they walked on out to the atrium. “Let’s just hope this isn’t the end.”

“It won’t be,” Ratchet assured him as he walked on over to the Med-Bay. He could see Bludgeon picking an unstable Drift off the floor who was groaning loudly.

“Drift, what are you doing?” Ratchet questioned him as he moved on over.

“Monobear said to head to cargo elevator,” he answered as he pushed Bludgeon off. “I need to head on over… there,” he gasped as he struggled to make step before collapsing to the floor. Ratchet gave a shake of his head before he started picking him up.

“You have a massive concussion. You’re not going,” he told him.

“But, we have to attend,” he murmured.

“Not if one is physically unable to attend. Monobear has allowed it just this once,” Ratchet said as he led him to the slab and laid him back on it.

“No, I can help,” he continue to struggle, only to be met with him pushing him down on the slab harshly.

“Drift, listen. We can handle ourselves, so just lay here and rest. In your state, you can’t help anybody,” he told him.

“Ugh…,” Drift grunted, his struggle weakening, before he finally stopped and sighed. “Alright. You’re right. I can’t take a step without falling,” he relented.

“I’ll take care of you once we return from the trial,” Ratchet told him.

“Just survive the trial, Ratchet. Ugh... I’ve been acting like such an ass to you,” the swordsman admitted. “I’ve been unreasonable. I apologize for that. I just find it hard to leave my bias… at the door.”

“It’s okay, Drift. Just lay here and we’ll talk later, okay?” Ratchet comforted him. He could here him give a sigh before he answered.

“I will. When I feel better, I’ll be at the elevator waitng for you,” he told him.

“Drift, please don’t do it unless you’re capable of doing it,” he ordered harshly

“I will, I will, I will,” Drift agreed, relaxing in his slab. “Just go catch the son of a bitch.”

“Don’t worry. We will,” he nodded as he looked to see Laserbeak was still recharging, as was Hound and Nautilator, and-

“Where’s Knock Out and Dead End?” Ratchet questioned, looking around.

“I don’t know,” Bludgeon answered honestly. “Knock Out woke up around the time you headed out and hurried out of the room while Dead End was led out of by Wildrider just a few minutes ago when he woke up.”

“They can both walk steadily?” Ratchet questioned.

“Seemed like it. Dead End needed a bit of help, but luckily, a missing arm does not affect the legs much. Knock Out, honestly, was really unsteady, but he practically barreled out of the room,” he answered.

“Ugh… let’s head on out. I bet he’s in his room,” Ratchet told him and Bludgeon nodded before the two headed out to the mall, walking through the groundbridge, and up the stairs to the second floor to find Knock Out’s room open, as he expected. The two headed inside to see the room in disarray, the table and its accompanying chairs thrown onto their sides, several dents in the wall, several energon-stained, broken buffers on the floor, and bandages on the floor. They could hear the shower and running and couldn’t help feeling something ominous. The two walked on over to look inside the bathroom to see the mirror broken, the shower running, and Knock Out standing under it, his head down and his shoulders slumped as he let the water cascade down on him. The bandages around his upper body were removed but the ones on his head were still there. The two glanced at each other before Ratchet spoke.

“Knock Out, are you okay?” Ratchet questioned.

“I’m fine, Ratchet,” he answered, his voice hollow and listless. “Just got dirt and grime on me that I have to wash off. Need to look my best.” Both of them felt unnerved by his tone of voice. It completely lacked his usually arrogance and bravado, replaced by something weak and apathetic. It was strange and unwanted.

“Knock Out… you should be resting on a slab at the Med-Bay or maybe even in here, if you want,” Ratchet told him. At that, Knock Out turned the water off slowly and turned to them, showing them his slightly bleeding chest. “Knock Out, did you attempt to buffer your wounds without letting them heal.”

“They were ugly. I had to fix them,” he told him as he walked on over to them, his sole optic showing a cold fury behind them. Ratchet realized that this wasn’t him giving up, this is him ready to send someone to their death without a bit of remorse. “Now, you can bandage them and we’ll head on out. Got some bandages under the sink.” The doctors stared at each other before Ratchet wisely backed off and headed to the sink. Even Bludgeon gave him a wide berth as Knock Out followed Ratchet to the kitchen sink and opened the cabinet under it to get a roll of bandages. Knock Out stood still as Ratchet reapply bandages to him, wrapping it around him five times before pulling it off. “Good. Now, I believe we have an execution to attend. I can’t wait,” he told them as he walked on out of the room, leaving the two of them alone again.

“Okay… that was kind of terrifying,” Ratchet said to Bludgeon.

“He actually looked intimidating. I’m pleased,” he agreed with him, which earned an odd look from Ratchet before he got to the point.

“Alright, let’s head to the trial,” he said and the two exited the room and quickly made their way down the stairs to see everyone who was capable of standing waiting for them. Upon their arrival, Blurr asked out loud.

“Alright, is that everyone capable of joining us?” Blurr questioned.

“Just push the button,” Knock Out ordered him and Blurr noticeably flinched before pressing the button. Knock Out entered first, taking his spot at the back and standing there, waiting for everyone else to enter, who all just looked at him oddly. “Come on, now. We have someone to execute,” he told them calmly, but everyone could see that vengeance was in his remaining optic. Everyone took a second before getting in, filling the elevator up. Once everyone was in, Blurr pressed the button and the elevator came to life with a cacophony of sounds as it descended down. No one spoke up as the elevator went down slowly, going down for what felt like a eternity, before stopping and opening up.

The courtroom had a different color going on today. Black with yellow spheres. Ratchet couldn’t help but feel reminded of the explosion as he took his place on the stand. Everyone who was alive were standing, except for the blank spots that were usually occupied by Drift, Hound, and Nautilator being empty. Blast Off had been replaced by a headshot of him with a blue, bloody X over it. To go along with it, Mirage and Nightbeat’s portrait had been edited with the reveal of them being killers. Mirage’s was a refine X, having appeared to be written by a noble, while Nightbeat’s was two magnifying glasses, appropriate for a detective.  

“Welcome everyone to your fourth trial!” Monobear greeted them exuberantly, happy to see them looking so haggard for the most part. “Now, you all know the rules. You have to catch the blackened. You don’t find them, our game ends here. If you find them, we get to continue this wonderful little game of ours. Now, I hereby declare that this trial begins now!”


	72. Chapter 5: Trial PT 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied. I'm continuing on because I really want to do this trial. It's been a while since I've done one.

**Have you got the facts straight?**

**Monobear File #5**

Victim: Blast Off

Location: Medical Bay

Time of Death: 12:47

Cause of Death: Exsanguination

Additional Notes: Victim was caught in an explosion.

**Betting Pool**

Smokescreen is hosting a betting pool among everyone for the race between Knock Out and Blurr with over a thousand monocoins involved.

**Storage of Betting Pool**

Smokescreen has placed the betting pool in his storage room to safeguard it against any thieves.

**No Refunds**

Smokescreen is not giving monocoins back until the trial is over. It's generally agreed that to ask for a refund now is an assholish thing to do.

**Wildrider's Theory**

Believes that Dead End's assault was a suicide attempt.

**Alibis**

Almost everyone was at the racetrack at the time of the assault and Bludgeon hasn't cleaned himself recently, leaving no one to be capable of assaulting Dead End at the time.

**Bludgeon's Testimony**

While in the sleeping area at 12:20, saw Dead End entered the triple-area building, assumingly heading to the medical bay with an object in his hands.

**Energon-Stained Kitchen Knife**

Found in the operating room. Thought to be the weapon that chopped Dead End's arm off, although it wouldn't be done in one strike.

**Dead End's Severed Arm**

Wire directions indicate a sawing motion and the angle suggests it was self-inflicted.

**Tourniquet**

Wrapped around the stump of what used to be Dead End's arm with energon splattered all over it. Was on him when he was found by Wildrider and Bludgeon.

**Glass Container**

Found in the sink of the Medical Bay having been recently washed.

Bludgeon confirmed that it belongs to Dead End.

**Anesthesia Dispenser**

Had one syringe left out of the five original one that Ratchet made before the race started.

**Ratchet's Surgery Notes**

Blast Off: Legs blown off as well as several fingers with injuries from shrapnel and force of explosion. Injected anesthesia to calm him down so surgery could happen uncomplicated, but he died shortly after injection.

Dead End: Arm was sawed off, but tourniquet prevented bleedout. Administered anesthesia to calm his struggles before patching the stump.

Knock Out: Heavy damage to upper body and head. Administered anesthesia to seize his writhing as wounds were patched

Laserbeak: Left wing was sliced halfway through. Administered anesthesia to soothe pain as wing was fixed and bandaged

Drift: Large head wound caused by rubble. Bandaged with additional steps needed to be taken later when he wakes up.

Hound: Large cuts on left shoulder and thigh as well as being impaled through the upper-left side of his body. Scavenger fixed the thighs and shoulder in the stands before cutting part of the rod off to free him and bring him over to me. Anesthesia was administered before removing the rod and fixing his wounds.

**White Line**

Had a grate there, but was replaced with a white line the night Dead End and Nautilator was at the VOF.

**Location of Crate**

The crate Swindle was trapped in was at the checker line before Nautilator and Dead End were found in the VOF, but at the white line after that.

**Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries**

Both of them were hit in the back of the head by a blunt object of some sort on their night out to the VOF.

**Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew**

Onslaught, Blast Off, and Smokescreen were searching at night from 11 PM to 2 AM with the former two taking the first building and Smokescreen taking the others.

**Archives**

The Archives were used during the search for Swindle and wouldn't open until noon on that day and won't open until 2 o'clock today.

**Blurr's Testimony**

Whenever he drove over the far left side of the white line, he always had this feeling that he was floating.

**Shard of Glass**

Bumblebee recovered a shard of opaque, blue glass from his shoulder, being inflicted during the explosion.

**Bumblebee's Testimony**

Claims to have heard beeping whenever the racers crossed the white line.

' **Rusted' Stands**

The stands by the checkered line had fake rust painted on it to fool Hoist into declaring it unsafe.

**Checkered Line**

Actually a piece of fabric that almost looks like paint.

**VOF Time of Day**

Timer was set ten minutes ahead with the black button untouched.

**Gutter Entrance at the Crater**

Scavenger found it after some digging in the crater.

**Grate**

Found in the Repair Bay with blue and red paint flakes on one side of it near the end of it.

' **Rust' Paint Can**

A paint can holding a special paint that makes objects look rusted. Available for 250 monocoins.

* * *

_Trial is now in session!_

* * *

"So, how should we do this?" Scavenger asked nervously.

"A rundown of events would probably be the best," Smokescreen answered.

"Well, uh, I discovered Swindle missing yesterday when I found his door opened," Onslaught replied, glancing over to Swindle, who was staying quiet and keeping his head down while hugging himself. He was still out of it. "After that, we all engaged in a search for most of the day, but only Smokescreen and Blast Off was with me throughout the night."

"The following day," Jazz continued, "we went to a planned race between Knock Out and Blurr at noon."

"At the fiftieth lap, a bomb went off, engulfing Blast Off, sending me to the ground, and flinging debris into the crowd," Knock Out said.

"After which, I had to operate on almost everyone injured from the explosion," Ratchet responded.

"As well as Dead End, who at the same time, had his arm chopped off under mysterious circumstances," Bludgeon added.

"It was painful," Dead End snarked darkly.

"Alright, so that's the order of events. The question is, what should be the first thing we figure out?" Blurr questioned everyone.

"Before we continue, can I mentioned something I found while searching the crater?" Scavenger asked them.

"Huh? What did you find?" Blurr asked.

"Uh, this," he said as he brought out a large, black piece of ragged cloth and what looked to be a plain black mask to go along with it to cover the face.

"What is that?" Rewind questioned him.

"It's a cloak and mask," Perceptor answered. "He found it while searching through the crater."

"Cloak and mask? Sounds more like an ninja than a bomber," Skywarp replied excitedly. "I've always wished they existed like in my comics."

"Well they don't," Ratchet muttered.

"Yeah, the closest we got to that is Bludgeon and he's more of a samurai," he agreed.

"I'll take your word for it, whatever a samurai is," Bludgeon agreed.

"Look them up. You're exactly like them."

"Guys! We're trying to find a killer!" Beachcomber reminded them. "We can talk comics later."

"Alright, killjoy. Hey, idiot with a lack of self-esteem. How exactly is that relevant?" Skywarp asked the Constucticon.

"Well, I think the bomber was using it to hide their identity while planting the bomb," Scavenger replied. "At least, that's all I can think of for it. I mean, I don't see any other reason for it."

"That would be my guess," Bumblebee agreed. "I mean, the cloak looks big and baggy enough to hide someone's frame. But what about the mask?"

"Adjustable. Can be used to fit a variety of faces," he replied. "Although it's a bit broken right now from the explosion."

"I didn't bring my toolkit with me to fix it, so don't bother asking me do so," Hoist told everyone.

"I don't think it matters," Mixmaster told him. "Still, good work, Scavenger."

"Heh, thanks," he replied.

**Ammo Added: Cloak and Mask**

**Damaged cloak and mask found by Scavenger and Perceptor in the crater.**

"Right, anything else?" Jazz asked the group.

"One thing on my part," Bumblebee told them. "I was observing the crate Swindle was stuffed in and noticed something odd about it."

"Odd? What are you talking about? It's just a crate… right?" Smokescreen asked, unsure.

"There was a hole," Bumblebee told them. "At the bottom of the crate, at around the height for Swindle's head."

"The bottom of the crate?" Perceptor repeated, confused.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it," he affirmed. "Also, I noticed that there was dirt on one side of it. It was on the lengthwise side that was looking at the checkered flag."

"That is pretty odd," Beachcomber muttered. "I wonder how that will play out."

**Ammo Added: Crate**

**Had a hole where Swindle's head would be and dirt covered the lengthwise section facing the checkered line.**

"Alright, is that all the evidence that everyone wants to mentioned?" Smokescreen asked the room. Ratchet looked around the room to look at everyone and see that almost everyone was complacent. Almost. Mixmaster was looking antsy, trying his hardest to keep quiet. Obviously, he found something, but didn't want to talk about it just yet. He must be waiting for the opportune moment to speak up. "Okay, so what do we need establish first?"

"Obviously, if we can, we have to establish when the bomb was planted," Perceptor told them.

"That's going to be hard, since no one here can claim to have seen the act," Hoist told him.

"That's true, but maybe we can get a rough estimate," Perceptor recommended.

"Well, they could've planted it all through last night," Smokescreen told them. "I may have been up until two that night, but I was searching all the buildings aside from the main building. Fragger could've easily snuck in while I was in another building."

"He speaks the truth," Onslaught mentioned. "I gave him the directive to search the area for Swindle."

"Well, let's talk about it," Perceptor told him.

* * *

Nonstep Debate!

Ammo Available: Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew, Blur's Testimony, Shard of Glass, Location of Crate, Nautilator and Dead End's Head Injuries, Glass Container

PERCEPTOR: So, the bomber entered the VOF last night to plant the bomb.

PERCEPTOR: The question is, when exactly that night did they plant they bomb?

BEACHCOMER: Do you really expect us to find an answer to that?

WILDRIDER: Well, the bomber had to move quickly.

WILDRIDER: **So he planted the bomb that night.**

ONSLAUGHT: The fragger did a good job planting it.

BLURR: **He pulled off everything that night. **

BLURR: Did we find a place where he created the bomb?

MIXMASTER: **No, we didn't**. The labs and repair bay lacked any evidence that a bomb was worked on.

SMOKESCREEN: Crafty slagger…

SMOKESCREEN: Is there anything we said that doesn't make sense?

JAZZ: I hope not. This case is already confusing enough.

* * *

RATCHET: That's not true!

Ammo Used: Location of Crate

* * *

"Wait, hold on, that don't sound right, Blurr," Ratchet told him.

"Huh?" Blurr gasped, confused. "But, that makes the most sense, right?"

"I agreed that the bomb was planted last night, but he's been preparing for it since the night before last," he responded to him.

"You're kidding, right? What proof do you have for that?"

"You know the crate Swindle was trapped in?" Ratchet questioned him, which earned a nod. "Well, that wasn't always there. It used to be by the checkered flag, but it was moved over to the white line two nights ago."

"Hmm, he's right, Blurr. I distinctly remember the crate being there," Knock Out acknowledged.

"Yeah, I was there as well and can confirm that the box was originally at the checkered line," Smokescreen added to the choir.

"Plus, I have video evidence of it. To deny it wasn't there in the first place is foolish," Rewind gave the last piece to close any lanes of discussion. Blurr looked to be in shock by the amount of evidence before he corrected himself and spoke up again.

"Say, even though you may be right, couldn't it have just been a coincidence?" he asked.

"Unlikely, considering something else was changed that night too," Ratchet answered.

"Wait, there was? Well, what was it?"

* * *

Monobear File #5

Betting Pool

Storage of Betting Pool

No Refunds

Wildrider's Theory

Alibis

Bludgeon's Testimony

Energon-Stained Kitchen Knife

Dead End's Severed Arm

Tourniquet

Glass Container

Anesthesia Dispenser

Ratchet's Surgery Notes

**White Line**

Location of Crate

Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries

Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew

Archives

Blurr's Testimony

Shard of Glass

Bumblebee's Testimony

'Rusted' Stands

Checkered Line

VOF Time of Day

Gutter Entrance at the Crater

Grate

'Rust' Paint Can

Cloak and Mask

Crate

* * *

"The white line over where the bomb was set off at wasn't there before either," Ratchet told him. "Rewind can confirm with his footage that it wasn't there until yesterday morning."

"Yeah, that's true. Remember when me, Hound, and Smokescreen was with you two nights ago? That white line wasn't there," Rewind told him.

"Hmm… you know, I think you're right. I drive fast, but I'm pretty sure now the white line wasn't there, but something else. What was it?" Blurr questioned them.

"It was a grate, running through the track," he answered. "I got the footage clearly."

"A grate?" Onslaught questioned. "So that must be where the bomb was planted, right?"

"Makes sense," Hoist agreed. "They placed the bomb in the grate and used the white line to cover it from view."

"But, if that's true, then Swindle must've been in the crate all this time and we missed him!" Onslaught yelled out, disappointed in his own failures.

"Actually, I don't think so," Blurr told him.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Onslaught questioned him.

"Because I looked through that _yesterday_ ," he told everyone, much to there surprised.

"And you fail to tell us that until now?" Bludgeon growled before slamming his fist on the stand. "Seems pretty suspicious."

"Woah, hold on there, I'm serious. I looked through that and found something else instead. Wires, a glass container, some other miscellaneous stuff. It's not important, but it proves Swindle wasn't there," Blurr told them.

"I say you're lying," he growled.

"I'm not, honestly!" he resisted.

"Then prove the worth of your testimony now," Bludgeon ordered.

"Alright, fine, geez," Blurr replied before speaking up about it.

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo Available:

BLURR: Look, on the day we all searched for Swindle…

BLURR: I looked through the crate and **didn't find him in it.**

BLUDGEON: Is that all?

BLURR: What else you want me to talk about?

BLUDGEON: Speak in detail about what you found in there.

BLURR: How is that relevant?

BLUDGEON: Speak!

BLURR: Alright, fine! Just calm down!

BLURR: Look, there wasn't much there.

BLURR: I remember that there were _ **wires**_ there.

BLURR: A container made of a _**bluish glass**_ _ **.**_

BLURR: What looked like a _**counter**_ , I guess.

BLURR: That's all.

BLUDGEON: How pathetic…

* * *

RATCHET: I agree!

Ammo Used: Shard of Glass

* * *

"Hey, Blurr. What was that about the glass?" Ratchet asked, shocked.

"The glass? It was a bluish color, kind of opaque. Why?" he asked.

"That sounds like the shard of glass that entered my shoulder," Bumblebee replied, holding on to his bandaged shoulder. "I've been wondering where it came from."

"If what Blurr says is true, that means that Swindle wasn't in there and-"

**THAT CAN'T BE!**

Ratchet shifted his glare to Bludgeon, who was crossing his arm and was glaring at him as well, although his was significantly more intimidating then what Ratchet can mustered. "Do you really think Swindle wasn't in the crate?"

"I trust Blurr on this point. His testimony and Bumblebee's wound agree with each other," Ratchet told him.

"Huh, is that it?" he asked, unimpressed. "I expect better from you."

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available: Blurr's Testimony, Archives, Crate, Shard of Glass, Location of Crate, 'Rust' Paint

BLUDGEON: What Blurr says has to be lies.

BLUDGEON: According to everyone who was at the race…

BLUDGEON: …Swindle emerged from the crate.

BLUDGEON: That contradicts all of Blurr's claims…

BLUDGEON: …and puts his testimony into question.

…

DEVELOPMENT

…

RATCHET: Swindle emerged from crate alright…

RATCHET: …but the question of the matter is…

RATCHET: …was he always there?

BLUDGEON: Is that even in question?

BLUDGEON: **He was in there**!

BLUDGEON: That means that he had to have **always been there**!

BLUDGEON: Besides, we've **searched everywhere** on the hunt for Swindle…

BLUDGEON: …and he was nowhere to be found.

* * *

RATCHET: That can't be possible!

Sword Used: Archives

* * *

"Bludgeon, there was one place in our search that we didn't look, or rather, couldn't access," Ratchet pointed out.

"Oh, really? I beckon you to tell me," he responded.

"Well, the archives have been inaccessible these past few days. Someone keeps using them without telling us about it," he told him.

"It has?"

"Yes. Me and Scavenger can confirm it," Mixmaster told them. "It's not opening until 2 o'clock today."

"Wait, really? Why would anyone use it that late?" Smokescreen questioned. "I doubt it was a late-night study."

"Plus, we would have to ask: what happened to the objects that Blurr found in the crate?"

"That is a good question," Ratchet admitted. "If we consider everything, I should find an answer. Just think it through carefully…"

* * *

Logic Dive!

Question #1: What were the archives used for?

To store evidence.

To store Swindle

To store the bomb

…

**To store Swindle**

…

Question #2: Where did the items in Blurr's crate go to?

Under the grate

To the archives

To the killer's room

…

**Under the grate**

…

Question #3: Why were they store under the grate?

They were the components of the bomb.

They were shrapnel for the bomb to inflict more damage

They needed fresh air

…

**They were the components of the bomb**

…

RATCHET: That's the order of events!

* * *

"Are you kidding me?" Ratchet growled, annoyed.

"Uh, what's wrong?" Blurr questioned nervously. "The items in the crate were irrelevant."

"No, they're the exact opposite of that," he chastised him. "Those items you found in the crate were components for the bomb, you idiot!"

"Wait, what?!" he gasped. "They can't be, right."

"It's the only answer that makes sense. Think about it. You saw the blue glass in there, just like in Bumblebee's shoulder. We didn't find anything else like that at the track, so they had to have been with explosion when it went off," Ratchet explained to everyone.

"And since they were there, that meant that Blurr's right and Swindle wasn't in there," Perceptor added.

"Which meant that Swindle had to be stored in the archives, correct?" Jazz asked.

"It would be the next best guess if it wasn't the crate," Bludgeon muttered. "I guess he was stored in the archives."

"The archives?" they heard someone speak up and everyone was quiet as they turned to Swindle, who had finally spoken up. "I wasn't in there."

"Huh?!" Ratchet gasped, caught off guard.

"I was drugged, but I know I was in the crate the whole time. I woke up once before the bomb was set off and I was in the crate. And I saw the bomber plant the bomb," he told them.

"What?!" Ratchet gasped again. He wished Swindle would keep quiet as nothing was making sense.

"Yes, I remember. He was cloaked, at that grate, with the sun shining down on them," he finished off and Ratchet was left dumbfounded. If what he was saying was true then the order of events was wrong and that comment… that comment was the most confusing.

"The sun was shining down on him? Are you saying the bomber planted it in the daytime!"


	73. Chapter 5: Trial PT 2

As they realized what Swindle was trying to say, he spoke up again. "Yeah, I guess so. The sun was definitely shining."

"Are you kidding me!? That's impossible!" Ratchet immediately stepped in and yelled down at him, causing him to gasp and immediately kept his head facedown on the stand and his head on his hand, ignoring him. "Hey, answer me!"

"Ratchet, I think you need to address him with a bit more tact. Obviously, his mental state isn't the best right now," Smokescreen recommended to him.

"Erk!" Ratchet grunted guiltily. Yeah, Swindle was nowhere near the best mental state, so he had to take care when talking to him. He can't just get grumpy at him for no reason, even if he was stressed out with all the work saddled on him and the fact that they were currently in a life or death situation. With how mentally scarred he was from all that was happening to him, he needed to treat him like a patient instead of a suspect. "Alright, let's do this carefully," he agreed before addressing Swindle and spoke in his most careful tone possible. "Swindle, could you please calm down? We need your help to understand your words."

"Understand?" he questioned, looking back up at him. "What do you need to understand? I saw them plant the bomb in the day time. What else do you need to understand?"

"It's just… hard to believe," Ratchet told him. "The bomber planting it in the daytime would be a huge risk."

"But I know what I saw. The sunshine, the bomber placing the bomb at the grate, the bomber… the bomber," he muttered, seemingly in a daze before he shook himself out of it. "That's right, I saw them… I know who it is!"

"Huh, you do?" Scavenger asked, shocked.

"Yeah, it's Wildrider!" he accused, shifting his gaze to him.

"Huh?" Wildrider asked, crossing his arm at him. "Are your circuits fried? No way I planted the bomb."

"You can't fool me, I know it's you!"

"Oh, boy," Ratchet groaned. "I doubt it's this easy, but better see if his testimony holds up."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Crate, Archives, Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries, White Line, Onslaught's Nighttime Crew, Cloak and Mask

SWINDLE: I know it's you, **Wildrider**!

WILDRIDER: And I'm telling you…

WILDRIDER: That your processor is scrambled!

PERCEPTOR: Could you describe to us what you saw?

SWINDLE: Yeah, sure, I know what I saw.

SWINDLE: I woke up **trapped in the crate**.

SWINDLE: Looking out, I saw the sun shining down…

SWINDLE: …on the person planting the bomb.

SWINDLE: That person was Wildrider!

WILDRIDER: And what makes you think it was me?

SWINDLE: I saw that the person was **entirely black!**

SWINDLE: **No one else can possibly fit that description**!

WILDRIDER: I have orange on me, moron!

SWINDLE: Yeah, but not much.

SWINDLE: I could easily have missed it!

* * *

RATCHET: That's wrong!

Ammo Used: Cloak and Mask

* * *

"Swindle, have you… even been paying attention to what's been going on?" Ratchet asked him.

"Huh?" Swindle grunted. "What do you mean?"

"He means, Swindle, did you pay attention when we talked about the cloak and mask?" Onslaught asked him.

"Cloak and mask? What cloak and mask?" he asked, confused. At that, Onslaught groaned into his hand, trying to withhold his disappointment.

"Scavenger, show him," he ordered weakly.

"Yeah, sure," he said as he got the cloak and mask and hold it out for everyone to see again. Swindle looked at it bug-eyed before looking down again.

"Oh… I see," he muttered. "Can you confirm that the bomber used that?"

"We found it hidden near where the bomb was place, so I say so," Perceptor told him.

"Yeah… I thought the bomber looked weird," he muttered.

"Can we just discount his whole testimony? It's obviously unreliable if he can't tell the difference between armor and cloth," Wildrider asked, annoyed.

"Let's not be so hasty," Jazz told him. "There might be something we can use in it."

"How can we trust someone who thinks that a bomb was planted in the daytime? Knock Out and Blurr were there for the daytime the whole time. No way could someone make use of it," he countered.

"There has to be something we can use in his testimony," Jazz responded back as he addressed the merchant. "Hey, Swindle, is there any more to your story?" Swindle didn't speak for a second before responding.

"Yeah, maybe," Swindle responded. "I'll try and come up with something for you."

"Just tell us the truth," Ratchet barked at him. He didn't have much trust in his testimony since it went against the facts of the case. His memory was probably so screw up that they had to reconstruct it.

"I'll tell you what I saw. Please know, this is how I saw it, okay?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah, sure," Bumblebee spoke up. "We have to get something out of your claims"

"Right… right."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Crate, Archives, Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries, White Line, Onslaught's Nighttime Crew, Cloak and Mask

SWINDLE: As I said, I was trapped in the crate.

SWINDLE: I looked out through a **hole in the crate**.

SWINDLE: I saw the figure planting the bomb.

WILDRIDER: They were **wearing a cloak** , right?

SWINDLE: Yeah, I'm thinking more clearly.

SWINDLE: **I saw it billowing a bit**.

SMOKESCREEN: See, doing better.

SWINDLE: Yeah, I guess so.

* * *

RATCHET: That's wrong!

Ammo Used: Crate

* * *

"Swindle, I must ask once again, were you even listening?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Swindle questioned, startled.

"I'm saying, are you sure you were looking through a hole in the crate?" he specified.

"Yeah, I'm sure, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see anything," Swindle told him.

"I sincerely doubt that."

"Wait… you're right," Bumblebee agreed. "The hole was at the bottom of the crate. If Swindle was looking through the hole, then he would be staring at the ground."

"Exactly. Swindle, why does your testimony continue to not make any sense?" Ratchet questioned him.

"I… I don't know!" Swindle yelled, placing a hand on his head. "I'm just telling you what I saw."

"May I interject?" Bludgeon interrupted.

"Huh?" Ratchet questioned. "What is it?"

"I've learned a thing or two during our investigations, and I'm afraid you're in the wrong on this one," he told him.

"Didn't I already beat you in a battle of wits?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Yes, but I must question you on why you're ignoring your own evidence?" he asked him.

"What do you mean, exactly?" Ratchet questioned him.

"I'm saying, do you remember the dirt on the crate?" Bludgeon pointed out and Ratchet nodded.

"Of course. I have that in my notes," he said.

"Then may I offer this hypothesis? What if the crate was simply tilted onto its side?" he questioned and Ratchet blinked at that.

"What?" he asked flatly.

"That would explain the discrepancy of the hole. Plus, if you remember where the dirt was, it was in the direction of the finished line, so when it was stacked on its side, the hole would be in the direction of the white line, right where the bomber was. After they planted the bomb, the crate was reposition to its current position," he explained and Ratchet was shocked at exactly how much that makes sense. The logic of it was undeniable. Impressive for someone he considered as nothing more than a brute. Which meant that he stressed Swindle out again for no reason. He really needed to take it slow. Sometimes, a contradiction had a reason for existing.

"You know, that makes sense," Swindle spoke up again. "I remember now that I was on my side."

"If this was an actual court of law, you be tried for perjury," Ratchet said, annoyed.

"Huh? But didn't those earth games say you can change your testimony?" Beachcomber questioned.

"Beachcomber, please stay away from earthen video games. They're hardly realistic," Perceptor ordered.

"Look, I didn't change my testimony. Just appended information to it," Swindle responded. "This isn't the first time I've testified in court."

"Plus, my logic does hold up, correct? It would make sense for him to be on his side," Bludgeon added.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ratchet murmured before thinking it through, but he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong with it. The contradiction had a reason for existing, but a better question to all of this was _why_ did it existed.

* * *

_Logic dive!_

Question #1: Why was the crate on its side?

So that the hole could be hidden

Because the ground was interesting

…

**So it could be hidden**

…

Question #2: Who cut the hole in the crate?

Swindle

Monobear

The Bomber

…

**The Bomber**

…

Question #3: Why did the bomber cut the hole?

To let Swindle see him plant the bomb

To let the air out

To let the dirt in

…

**To let Swindle see them plant the bomb**

…

RATCHET: That's it!

* * *

"What the… why would they do that?" he asked out loud.

"Uh, are you okay?" Skywarp asked him.

"Look, just for confirmation, you didn't cut the hole in the crate, right Swindle?" Ratchet questioned him delicately.

"What? No, of course not. I just online to see out the crate and saw him planting the bomb," Swindle answered.

"That's what I thought…."

"Uh, could you fill us in on what's bugging you?" Skywarp questioned him.

"The thing is, if it wasn't Swindle, then it as to be the bomber, which raises the question; why would the bomber even cut the hole into the crate?" he questioned everyone and at that, everyone was quiet.

"You know, that has bother me as well," Skywarp answered. "If the bomber cut the hole into the crate, that would mean that he wanted Swindle to see him plant the bomb."

"Huh? But why would he do that?" Smokescreen questioned.

"Isn't it obvious?" Knock Out questioned everyone. "This has to the bomber's trap."

"Trap? What do you mean?" Hoist questioned him.

"What I mean is that Swindle was probably manipulated into giving this contradicting testimony," Knock Out told them.

"Manipulated?" Swindle questioned him angirily. "First they killed Blast Off, and now you're telling me that they are using me to end the case in their favor?"

"More than likely," he responded.

"It unfortunately starting to sound like the truth," Ratchet told him.

"What, but… but is anything I'm saying useful?" Swindle asked out loud, frustrated with his hand on his head and shaking it.

"If you can testify to anything else, do so. If we can find something unmanipulated, we can decode the lie that they're forcing on us," Mixmaster agreed.

"Swindle, just testify once again," Onslaught said dully.

"Ugh… fine, I will. Just get something that we can use," Swindle agreed.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Blurr's Testimony, Dead End and Nautilator's Head Wound, Grate, 'Rust' Paint, Ratchet's Surgery Notes, Checkered Line

SWINDLE: Alright, what do you wanna know?

PERCEPTOR: How about after the bomb was placed.

SWINDLE: After the bomb was placed?

SWINDLE: He came over to the crate and flipped it over.

SWINDLE: He opened it, I felt a prick, and **everything went away**.

MIXMASTER: What about what you could hear?

SWINDLE: What I heard? Not much.

SWINDLE: I was so dazed, I could **barely hear anything.**

BEACHCOMBER: What about time?

SWINDLE: You know, that is one thing.

SWINDLE: It took him a long time to open it once they flipped it.

SWINDLE: And, during that time, I'm not sure what I heard.

SWINDLE: _**I think there were voices**_ …

SWINDLE: … _ **the sound of shattered glass**_ …

SWINDLE: … _**and two thuds**_ _ **.**_

KNOCK OUT: Are you sure of this?

SWINDLE: Yeah, I'm sure.

SWINDLE: So, did any of it help?

* * *

RATCHET: That's right!

Ammo used: Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries

* * *

"Wait, hold on. Two loud thuds?" Ratchet questioned.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Swindle answered. "Of that much, I'm certain of."

"So what? Is there anything important in that?" Rewind questioned. "He could've just drop some stuff."

"That or he was bashing people's head in," Ratchet answered.

"Wait, what?!" Rewind questioned, startled.

"Are you taking about mine and Nautilator's head injuries?" Dead End specified.

"Head injuries? What head injuries?" Bludgeon questioned, worried. Obviously, he didn't take the time to look at the back of Nautilator's head.

"I found dents on the back of Dead End and Nautilator's head today, right before the race," Ratchet answered his question.

"It is most peculiar," Dead End muttered, trying to cross his arms with only one of them awkwardly. "I didn't understand why such an injury was inflicted on the two of us."

"At this point, I think it's safe to say you got it when you visited the racetrack in a drug-filled stupor. When you saw the bomber at the scene, they must've decided to take no chances and hit you in the back of the head," he answered.

"But didn't we find them in the forest?" Skywarp questioned.

"More than likely, he carried them to the forest to draw suspicion away from the racetrack. He had to make sure that we didn't find the bomb," Bumblebee answered.

"Among other things," Ratchet muttered.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Swindle, did the bomber carried something with them on their way to you?" Ratchet questioned him.

"You know, I believe they did, one in each hand. One was a syringe of some sort, I'm sure. He had to drug me somehow. But the other was much larger, had no idea what it was," he told them.

"I believe I can wager a bet on what exactly it was," Ratchet answered. "It was…."

* * *

Monobear File #5

Betting Pool

Storage of Betting Pool

No Refunds

Wildrider's Theory

Alibis

Bludgeon's Testimony

Energon-Stained Kitchen Knife

Dead End's Severed Arm

Tourniquet

Glass Container

Anesthesia Dispenser

Ratchet's Surgery Notes

White Line

Location of Crate

Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries

Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew

Archives

Blurr's Testimony

Shard of Glass

Bumblebee's Testimony

'Rusted' Stands

Checkered Line

VOF Time of Day

Gutter Entrance at the Crater

**Grate**

'Rust' Paint Can

Cloak and Mask

Crate

* * *

"This grate," Ratchet answered.

"The grate that I found?" Hoist questioned. "How sure are you?"

"Two reasons. One, as Swindle can attest, he was at the grates, so he have to remove one to get inside the gutter. Two, the gutter we found had blue and red paint flakes on it," he answered.

"Blue and red paint flakes?" Dead End questioned. "They must've transferred onto the grate when he used it to crack our heads open."

"Correct. After smacking the two of you with it, he must've gotten worried about it, so he took it to the Repair Bay and hid it in there to keep it from being found if we should find the head wound," Ratchet responded.

**NOT SO FAST!**

"Oh frag…," Ratchet groaned as he heard Smokescreen yelled. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing much," he responded with a shrug and Ratchet glared at him coldly.

"Are you just screwing with me?"

"Maybe a little bit, but I just want to make sure, okay? It's not like I doubt you, but we can't afford to get anything wrong."

"Hmph, fine. I suppose a bit of a discussion couldn't hurt."

"That's the spirit. Let's see if we can find anything."

* * *

_Cross Swords Battle!_

Swords Available: Checkered Line, Monobear File #5, Blurr's Testimony, Crate, Cloak and Mask, Ratchet's Surgery Notes

SMOKESCREEN: Alright, so you got paint flakes on the grate?

SMOKESCREEN: So what?

SMOKESCREEN: It doesn't really prove anything.

SMOKESCREEN: Especially since I haven't heard you say anything about matching the wounds.

SMOKESCREEN: Heck, how do you even know it comes from the racetrack?

…

DEVELOPMENT

…

RATCHET: That's true, I didn't match it…

RATCHET: …but I can confirm that it came from the racetrack!

SMOKESCREEN: Wait, really?

SMOKESCREEN: How heck do you know that?

SMOKESCREEN: **No one looked under the white line** …

SMOKESCREEN: … **and everyone drove just fine.**

SMOKESCREEN: So how do you know it came from there?

* * *

RATCHET: That's wrong!

Sword used: Blurr's Testimony

* * *

"Everyone drove fine? Not according to Blurr," he responded.

"Oh, really?" Smokescreen asked.

"Yeah," Blurr agreed with Smokescreen before speaking again. "Wait, what do you mean?" Ratchet facepalmed at Blurr's idiocy before speaking.

"Blurr, you told me yourself that you felt weightless when driving over the far-left side, correct?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Well, yeah…, but I'm pretty sure it was nothing," he answered, which earned a disapproving look from Smokescreen.

"Okay, Blurr? I was objecting Ratchet to test him. I didn't mean it seriously," he told him, annoyed.

"Wait, really?" Blurr asked.

"Yes, you moron," Smokescreen muttered, facepalming as well. "Frag, how are you still this stupid?"

"Hey, I'm just going with my gut here."

"There's this thing call the processor. Use that. It's pretty wonderful," he remarked sardonically.

"Uh, are you two done arguing?" Ratchet questioned.

"If Blurr is done playing the fool, sure," Smokescreen shrugged and Blurr glared at the gambler before nodding. "Great."

"So, is my testimony finally reliable?" Swindle asked.

"It's certainly got some positives," Jazz agreed.

"Great, good to hear."

"Yes, we now know for sure that your testimony took place two nights ago when it was dark," Ratchet responded.

"Huh? When it was dark out? But, I saw the sun shining," Swindle said, confused.

"Swindle, just ignore it. It's-"

"No! Of all the things I'm certain of, I'm most certain of that. No way did it take place at night!"

"Swindle-"

"Shut it! I'm right!" he continued to badger him. Ratchet continued to glare at him as he realized what was wrong with him. He's been out of the loop since the last trial and he needed to be filled in on a certain fact.

* * *

_Machine Gun Talk Battle!_

Ammunition Available

SHIELD X7

SWINDLE: I'm sure of what I saw!

SHIELD X6

SWINDLE: Why can't you trust my testimony!

SHIELD X5

SWINDLE: I'm trustworthy for once!

SHIELD X4

SWINDLE: Your time doesn't match.

SHIELD X3

SWINDLE: Are you retarded?

SHIELD X2

SWINDLE: Are you trying to humiliate me!

SHIELD X1

SWINDLE: Do you want Blast Off to die in vain?!

_Shield destroyed_

SWINDLE: **It was daytime when I was up.**

* * *

RATCHET: This proves it was night!

Ammo Used: VOF Time of Day

* * *

"Swindle, you've been out of the loop for a long time now. Want me to inform you about something?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Out of the loop? About what?" Swindle questioned him.

"The place where your testimony takes place? It's called a Virtual Outdoor Facility, otherwise known as a VOF. Among the things it can do is change the time of the area is in," he told him.

"Yeah, Swindle. Just move the knob around and you're set. That's the only thing about it," Smokescreen told him.

"Correct. And it just so happen that the time was off today by ten minutes," Ratchet responded.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Swindle questioned confused.

"The bomber obviously set the time several hours before or after the time you were up, which was nighttime. When he was done, he used the dial to move it back to the original time, but failed to make sure it was completely accurate," Ratchet told him.

"More than likely, after the bomber attacked Dead End and Nautilator, he took Swindle back to the archives, as that was why the archives were still being used yesterday night," Scavenger said.

"Then he placed the bomb components back in the crate to make them look nonsuspicious," Beachcomber explained.

"Then, yesterday night, he moved Swindle backed to the racetrack and stuffed him in the box while planting the bomb that night," Wildrider muttered.

"Anything else?" Ratchet questioned and everyone stayed quiet as the facts of the case came to light. It all made sense, so it was pretty likely it was the correct turn of events.

"Uh, can I make a small correction?" Blurr asked out loud and Ratchet inwardly groaned. Blurr, Blurr, Blurr, always with something to say. "Uh, you know, I'm kind of an idiot." Oh no. Just what was it? "I think I forgot to mention, but you know that blue container?"

"Uh, yes," Ratchet responded nervously. He had a feeling this was going to end with him wanting to wring Blurr's neck in frustration. This happened in every trial.

"Well, I may have forgot to mention that it was broken," he responded and if Ratchet could cut through steel with his glare, Blurr would've been bifurcated.

"What?!"

"Yeah, odd thing. It was all clustered together, so it still looked a bit like a container, but it was definitely broken," he responded and Ratchet desperately wanted to smack some sense into the ditsy racer. Thankfully, Bludgeon voiced his concerned.

"Blurr, next time, mention everything, or you'll face the full force of my wrath," he threaten as he slammed both his fist on his stand, sending the point across.

"Right, sorry!" he responded.

**Ammo Updated: Blurr's Testimony**

**Open the crate Swindle was in yesterday to find wires, a counter, and a shattered blue container.**

**Whenever he drove over the far left side of the white line, he always had this feeling that he was floating.**

"Anyone got anything else to mention?" Ratchet questioned and at that, Swindle spoked, hugging himself now.

"How long have I've been out of the loop? I have no idea what's been going on since Monobear let me stayed in my room when he asked everyone to come to the motive," Swindle told him.

"Stay in your room? Now why would he do that?" Ratchet questioned.

"I'm not completely sparkless, you know?" Monobear told them from atop his throne. "I realized that Onslaught and Blast Off's actions last trial made him really upset, so I let him stayed in his room," he told them. Ratchet knew what he really meant. He let Swindle stayed in his room so that the paranoia over Onslaught and Blast Off would grow instead of letting it settle.

"Aright, look, Swindle? Seriously, talk to Onslaught after the trial. You two are the only ones you two have got, so I would cherish each other's company," he told him simply and Swindle nodded along to him.

"Fine. I'll talk to Onslaught after the trial," Swindle agreed, turning to his CO. "If that's alright with you."

"I… guess a failure like me needs some moral support," he agreed.

"Alright, good to hear," Ratchet nodded. "Now, anything else?"

"Yes, one thing," Mixmaster invited himself into the conversation, his arms crossed and his posture displaying confidence.

"What do you want to say?" Ratchet questioned him.

"I just wanted to say thanks for taking care of all the loose ends, because now I can definitely say who the bomber is," the chemist told him.

"Huh?!" Ratchet asked, shocked. "You know who the bomber is?"

"Yes, which is why I claim Smokescreen is the one who planted the bomb!"


	74. Chapter 5: Trial PT 3

"Smokescreen… planted the bomb?" Hoist could barely say and everyone was in shock at his claims.

"Yes, of course. He's the only one that makes sense," Mixmaster told him and Smokescreen spoke up.

"Is this a joke?" Smokescreen asked him, seemingly insulted. "What makes you think I made the bomb?"

"Made the bomb? No, no, now you're just making baseless assumptions," Mixmaster told him. "You don't have the scientific knowledge to pull it off. The only ones here I believe could do so are me and Perceptor."

"So are you offering yourself up as a suspect?" Smokescreen questioned him.

"No, I'm just saying you obtained a bomb from a different source," he told him.

"A different source?" Ratchet questioned, wondering what he meant.

"Exactly. Naturally, when we think of bombs, we think of homemade ones made in people's homes, but that simply isn't true in this case," Mixmaster told him.

"But then, where could the bomb have come from?" Perceptor questioned.

"Come on. We've all been there."

"All been there?" Ratchet questioned. A place they had all been too… is he implying the place that he actually meant?

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram!_

_/ _/ _/ _/

M/ A/ _/ _/

M/ A/ L/ L/

MALL

RATCHET: That's the place!

* * *

"Are you talking about the mall?" Ratchet questioned.

"Exactly," Mixmaster accepted the answer. "There's a store that sells many types of scientific equipment, including explosives."

"Oh, you mean that place," Perceptor muttered. "Yes, you are right. Explosives were stored there."

"And if I remember, Smokescreen went there with us," Beachcomber mentioned.

"You realize everyone has had several days to check the place out?" Smokescreen questioned him.

"True, but you are one of four that we can confirm was definitely there," Mixmaster told him.

"But do you have any proof that the bomber even bought the bomb?" he continued to questioned him.

"I wouldn't if I didn't have any," he announced as he brought out a glass container of a familiar blue color. "Does this glass seem familiar?"

"That looks like the glass I saw in the crate," Blurr murmured.

"I asked Monobear if I could take one of these to show as evidence and he allowed it," Mixmaster announced to everyone.

"You're beary welcome for that!" he shouted.

"Ugh," he groaned at the pun.

"Yeah, that was kind of bad," Smokescreen agreed with the chemist.

"Back to the point, what's in the glass?" Bumblebee questioned.

"Oh, this? Nothing much. Just several thousand grams of nitroglycerine," Mixmaster answered his question.

"Nitroglycerine?" Knock Out questioned, intrigued. "Not bad, not bad. Especially with such a large amount of it, they could create something similar to dynamite."

"There's still something wrong with what you said," Smokescreen reminded him.

"Oh?" Mixmaster asked, amused. "And what exactly is that?"

"Explosives are a thousand monocoins a pop. Even if one hasn't spent a single monocoin, they wouldn't have enough to buy some," he told him with a smirk.

"True, that is a problem… wanna talk about it?" Mixmaster questioned him.

"What's going on in that drugged-up mind of yours?" Smokescreen wondered.

"Oh, nothing. Let's just talk for a bit."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: No Refunds, Betting Pool, Crate, Blurr's Testimony, Grate, 'Rusted Paint'

SMOKESCREEN: Right, like I said, explosives costs a thousand monocoins apiece.

SMOKESCREEN: Just where do you think I got the money for that?

HOIST: _**He couldn't have, right?**_

MIXMASTER: Leave your optimism behind, Hoist.

MIXMASTER: I know it's a shame…

MIXMASTER: …that two friends have betrayed your trust now.

HOIST: You haven't proved anything!

WILDRIDER: So, _**he stole it**_ right?

WILDRIDER: Only way I could think of.

MONOBEAR: I don't tolerate thievery!

SKYWARP: It's not like he got…

SKYWARP: …a _**sudden influx of monocoins**_ , right?

DEAD END: Anything could happen here.

* * *

RATCHET: I agree!

Ammo used: Betting Pool

* * *

"Hold on. Skywarp, I think you may've stumbled upon the answer," Ratchet told him.

"Huh? I did?" he asked, confused. "But, where could he have gotten all the monocoin from."

"Well, he did get them yesterday," Ratchet told him.

"Yesterday… wait, you're talking about the betting pool?" Skywarp realized.

"Exactly. He organized the betting pool in the first place just so he have enough money to get the explosive. He probably has a working knowledge of explosives, so he could build one as long as he as the explosive component."

"That's your argument?" Smokescreen questioned, amused, with a smile on his.

"Of course. That's the only explanation," Ratchet responded.

"Ratchet, Ratchet, your attempt at usurping the title of lead detective from me is not going well when you leave a clear contradiction in your statement," he continued his mocking.

"Contradiction?!" Ratchet yelled. "What do you mean?"

"Indeed. What on Cybertron are you talking about?" Mixmaster questioned him.

"Well then… let's talk about this some more, if you don't quite understand."

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Betting Pool, 'Rust' Paint Can

SMOKESCREEN: So, have you two realized your flaws yet?

RATCHET: Flaws? What flaws?

SMOKESCREEN: Do you certainly not know?

SMOKESCREEN: Want me to parrot someone else's testimony for you?

MIXMASTER: There's no need to.

MIXMASTER: **You bought the explosives yesterday!**

SMOKESCREEN: So that's a yes?

SMOKESCREEN: Let me repeat something from my bud's, Swindle, testimony.

SMOKESCREEN: ' **I think there were voices** …

SMOKESCREEN: …: **the sound of shattered glass:** …

SMOKESCREEN: … **and two thuds**.'

SMOKESCREEN: Does that help?

* * *

RATCHET: That's wrong!

Ammo Used: The Sound of Shattered Glass

* * *

"The sound of shatter glass… that was the container for the explosives!" Ratchet yelled.

"Which means… what?" Smokescreen wanted confirmation.

"It means the bomber already had the explosives before the betting pool," he replied.

"What?!" It was Mixmaster's turn to be shocked now. "Can that be true?"

"Pair that up with something else and it becomes evident that is the truth here," Smokescreen told them.

* * *

Monobear File #5

Betting Pool

Storage of Betting Pool

No Refunds

Wildrider's Theory

Alibis

Bludgeon's Testimony

Energon-Stained Kitchen Knife

Dead End's Severed Arm

Tourniquet

Glass Container

Anesthesia Dispenser

Ratchet's Surgery Notes

White Line

Location of Crate

Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries

Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew

Archives

**Blurr's Testimony**

Shard of Glass

Bumblebee's Testimony

'Rusted' Stands

Checkered Line

VOF Time of Day

Gutter Entrance at the Crater

Grate

'Rust' Paint Can

Cloak and Mask

Crate

* * *

"You're talking about Blurr's testimony?" Ratchet wanted confirmation.

"Oh, yeah. I did see the broken blue glass," Blurr agreed.

"Bingo," Smokescreen nodded, keeping his cheery smile. "I'm not offended that you thought I was the killer, but this was a pointless exercise."

"But it has to be you! Who else could've had the necessary funds?" Mixmaster badgered him.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "but you have to look somewhere else."

"Why, you," the chemist growled. "There has to be another way for you to get money. Someone think of something!"

"Mixmaster, maybe it's time to back off," Scavenger recommended timidly.

"Back off, Scavenger! I know I'm right," he yelled at him.

"I'm sorry!" he immediately apologized.

"Someone, think of a place where Smokescreen could amass money," Mixmaster ordered everyone.

"Dude, you're losing it," Skywarp muttered.

"There has to be a way. Think of something," he continued his tirade and Ratchet couldn't help, but think that he was right. If Smokescreen didn't have the money, then no one did. So there had to be a place for him to use, but where? Where could he get the money to buy the explosives? Where…

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram!_

_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

C/ A/ _/ _/ _/ _/

C/ A/ S/ I/ _/ _/

C/ A/ S/ I N/ O/

CASINO

RATCHET: There's the place!

* * *

"Wait, hold on. What about the casino?" Ratchet questioned everyone.

"Huh?" Smokescreen grunted, his smile fading away.

"Does the casino offer monocoins?" he questioned the group.

"I'll go ahead and confirm that it does!" Monobear answered.

"Then does it make sense that the Ultimate Gambler could make a lot of money from there, maybe even enough to buy some nitroglycerine?" Ratchet asked everyone, a grin now forming on his face.

"You know… I guess it does," Skywarp agreed with him.

"Yeah, it does," Smokescreen shrugged. "Doesn't prove anything, but congratulations, you found circumstantial evidence that indicts _everyone_. Now, can you prove I actually made enough money from it to buy some nitroglycerine?"

"Uh… well-"

"That's what we call a no, Ratchet," Smokescreen interrupted. "Will you quit-"

"May I interrupt the proceedings?" Perceptor interrupted.

"Huh?"

"What?" Ratchet questioned as well.

"Smokescreen, can you do me a favor and talk about the VOF's console for me?" Perceptor questioned.

"What? Why?" Smokescreen questioned him.

"Just humor me. Your answer can end this discussion of whether you're the killer or not right here," he told him. Smokescreen glared at him, unsure of what he wanted, before he spoke.

"Alright, fine. Let's talk."

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo Available: VOF Time of Day

SMOKESCREEN: So, what do you want to know?

PERCEPTOR: You know, you seem to know what you're talking about.

PERCEPTOR: Could you explain how it functions to me?

PERCEPTOR: No : **mistakes:** , please.

SMOKESCREEN: If you insist.

SMOKESCREEN: You used the dial…

SMOKESCREEN: …to **change the time of day**.

SMOKESCREEN: The black button…

SMOKESCREEN: … **turns the VOF off**.

SMOKESCREEN: Satisfied?

PERCEPTOR: Oh, very much so.

SKYWARP: You are? Cause I'm not.

WILDRIDER: Neither am I. I feel like he's wrong.

PERCEPTOR: That's exactly why I'm satisfied.

SMOKESCREEN: …

* * *

RATCHET: That's wrong!

Ammo Used: Mistakes

* * *

"Hold on, Smokescreen. Did you say that the black button turns the VOF off?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Yeah, I did," he admitted. "Why?"

"Because, that's not true," Ratchet replied. "Perceptor told me himself."

" _Which begs the questions as to why the timer here says 1:45," Perceptor told them._

" _Huh?" they both said as they checked the timer to see that he was correct, the timer did say 1:45. Ratchet looked the device over to see the dial did look to have seen a bit of use while the black button appears to be unused, having small, soft metal pieces on it from the plants._

" _Why the frag would anyone do that?" Skywarp wondered. "Seriously, how does that benefit anyone in anyway?"_

" _I'm not sure, but it is an anomaly, since the last time me and Wildrider touched it, we pressed the black button to return it to normal," he answered._

"He said that you pressed the black button to return it to normal, yet you talk like the dial is the only thing to change the time," Ratchet told him.

"Grr," Smokescreen grunted. "It was a one-time mistake."

"No, because even earlier, you supported the same thing you just said now," Perceptor interrupted.

_"Swindle, you've been out of the loop for a long time now. Want me to inform you about something?" Ratchet questioned him._

_"Out of the loop? About what?" Swindle questioned him._

_"The place where your testimony takes place? It's called a Virtual Outdoor Facility, otherwise known as a VOF. Among the things it can is change the time of the area is in," he told him._

_"Yeah, Swindle. Just move the knob around and you're set. That's the only thing about it," Smokescreen told him._

"You implied back then that the dial was the only way to change the time," Perceptor old him.

"…Okay. I admit, my logic has been flawed," he admitted. "Sorry."

"Logic? You were doing nothing, but giving yourself more rope," the scientist chided him.

"Plus, of all the people who could've moved Swindle backed to the racetrack, you were the one who had the best opportunity," Onslaught growled angrily. "You feigned sympathy in order to further your own goals."

"What?! How dare you!" Smokescreen yelled at him. "Swindle is my friend. Of course I looked for him, you colossal failure."

"You were the one who recommended that me and Blast Off searched the first building while you check the other buildings by yourself," the tactician accused. "You did that to make sure no one could witness you taking Swindle back to the racetrack."

"You… would do that to me?" Swindle questioned him, tilting his head to look at him.

"No, of course not," Smokescreen argued.

Ratchet couldn't help, but think about this as a perfect opportunity. Smokescreen was getting angry and was bound to slip up during this heated argument. This was probably the perfect opportunity to find more flaws in his testimony.

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo Available: Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew

SMOKESCREEN: I was searching all night for Swindle!

SMOKESCREEN: How dare you imply otherwise!

ONSLAUGHT: I won't trust the words of a scoundrel like you.

ONSLAUGHT: You were always a bad influence.

SMOKESCREEN: I'm not the Decepticon, here.

SMOKESCREEN: I'm not like : **Bludgeon:** , who can kill anyone.

SMOKESCREEN: I'm not like **you** , who'll pull out all the stops to win.

SMOKESCREEN: I'm not like **Shockwave** , who torture anything.

SMOKESCREEN: I am honest and loyal.

SMOKECREEN: So let me tell you again about my findings.

SMOKESCREEN: I didn't find anyone in the **Library**.

SMOKESCREEN: I didn't find anyone in the **mall**.

SMOKESCREEN: I didn't find anyone at the **tri-building**.

SMOKESCREEN: And I didn't find anyone at the **VOF**.

SMOKESCREEN: That's the honest truth.

* * *

RATCHET: That's a lie!

Ammo Used: Bludgeon

* * *

"Hold on, what was that, Smokescreen?" Ratchet questioned him.

"What did I say this time?" the gambler asked, exasperated.

"You said you didn't find anyone in the tri-building, correct?"

"Of course. What else?" he questioned him.

"Because I was there," Bludgeon realized.

"You were?!" Smokescreen asked, shocked.

"Yes. I was there all night until five in the morning, but I never recall seeing you," the metallikato expert said.

"Strange. For someone to have claim to have searched everywhere, you sure seemed to have never bother searching the Med-Bay," Ratchet pointed out.

"Guah," Smokescreen groaned, caught off guard.

"You fragger!" Onslaught yelled. "Just admit that you planted the bomb!"

"Yeah, right," Smokescreen scoffed, crossing his arms and slanting to his right. "Even if I was the bomber, you think I admit it without direct evidence?"

"I know that look," Swindle spoked up, surprising the gambler. "You're always like that when the cops had a bunch of circumstantial evidence, but nothing to tie you directly to the crime."

"No I'm not," he replied, uncrossing his arms and straightening his pose.

"Smokescreen, that might work in the real world, but in here? We vote and that's it. Justice is served. Whether we have all the evidence or not, that is the fact of this game. We don't need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, just enough to make sure you killed him," Swindle told him. "Just give up."

"No, because I didn't do it," he continued to resist.

"Smokescreen, is everyone telling the truth?" Hoist asked. "I don't wanna believe them, after all you've done me. After you saved us the last case."

"They're bullshitting, Hoist. Trust me," Smokescreen assured him, trying to sound sympathetic. "I care for you. Believe me."

Ratchet had enough of Smokescreen's lies. There was no way Smokescreen cared about him. He even had proof of it.

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo Available: 'Rusted' Paint Can, Monobear File #5, 'Rusted' Stands, White Line, Checkered Line, Bumblebee's Testimony

SMOKESCREEN: Hoist, listen, **I didn't plant the bomb** , okay.

HOIST: You promise?

SMOKESCREEN: I promise.

SKYWARP: I can see your aft on fire from here.

SMOKESCREEN: I'm not lying.

SMOKESCREEN: **I care about him and all of you**.

MIXMASTER: All you've done is lie since we've confronted you.

MIXMASTER: What makes you think we'll believe you now?

SMOKESCREEN: I don't and I understand.

SMOKESCREEN: But you still have **no evidence** that I did it.

SMOKESCREEN: So stop this charade, dammit!

* * *

RATCHET: That's a lie!

Ammo Used: 'Rusted' Stands

* * *

"You 'care' about us?" Ratchet asked, actually sounding amused.

"Yes, of course," Smokescreen told him. "We're all in this hell together. We have to work together."

"Then why did you paint rust on the stands?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Huh?" he asked.

"When you painted the stands that fake rust paint, you got all of us to group up near where the bomb was. Logic dictates the bomber did this to ensure lots of people getting injured from the bomb."

"It makes sense," Knock Out agreed. "If you can injure more people, the better. Besides, you never had to worry about the shrapnel, didn't you?"

"Now what does that mean?" Smokescreen questioned him.

"Well, we all know where Smokescreen was when the bomb went off, right?" he asked everyone.

* * *

Where was Smokescreen during the bombing?

At the stands

In the center.

**At the annoucer's booth.**

* * *

"He was in the annoucer's booth, far away from ground zero," Ratchet murmured. "If I was the bomber, I wouldn't risk any stray shrapnel taking me out, so I would be somewhere safe."

"Exactly," Knock Out nodded. "Who gave Smokescreen the role of announcer?"

"Himself," Hoist could barely muttered. "Said he had a knack for announcing less legal games."

"Oh, how altruistic of him," Knock Out gave a wicked grin. "He manipulated everyone around him to be at the bomb when it went off while he stayed nice and comfy in his booth."

"You… you u-used me?" Hoist questioned Smokescreen, his voice breaking. "Y-you knew I c-checked the stands."

"Hoist, I didn't do it. They proved nothing! Anyone can have 250 monocoins," he scoffed.

"Wooooah, wait a minute. What was that, you slagger?" Skywarp halted him. "How do you know the price of the paint can? The only ones who know are me, Ratchet, and Hoist."

"Huh?" Smokescreen gasped. "Uh, well, I saw it once while checking out paint cans. I was thinking of applying a fresh coat of my colors."

"Oh, that has to be bullshit," Rewind muttered. "The amount of coincidences that have to occur during your entire testimony is ridiculous."

"That's not all," Ratchet murmured. "I highly doubt you find that can paint around where your colors are at because…

* * *

What was the 'rust' paint can?

**Specialty Paint**

Normal Paint

Irregular Paint

* * *

"…it's a specialty paint. No way would that be anywhere near your colors."

"Guah!" Smokescreen gasped.

"As far as I can tell, the only reason you would even bother knowing the price is because you bought the damn thing," Ratchet told him.

"There's nowhere to hide, Smokescreen!" Onslaught yelled, regaining some of his confidence. "We've proven your testimonies are composed of lies, we've proved you've had the means, and we've proof that your intentions was to cause as much harm to everyone as possible. So just go ahead and-"

"Fine, I admit it," Smokescreen cut in calmly, crossing his arms. "I planted the bomb." Everyone was quiet at his confession. The person who has caused so much harm to the group had been identified. They won and Smokescreen just stood there with a relaxed smile.

"Wow… you're so calm," Scavenger muttered nervously. "Why are you so calm?! Are you the mole?! Will Monobear just let you leave?!"

"No, of course not. The person working for him is certifiably nuts," he shrugged. "Honestly Scavenger, you thinking I'm the mole hurts me."

"What? Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Don't. There's nothing to apologize over. Besides, I'm pretty sure I should offer you a bigger apology for bashing you upside the head. You were out for quite a while," he told him in a joking matter and everyone went quiet at that. Did he just said what they think he said?

"Y-you're the one who assaulted me?" Scavenger asked, scared.

"Yes. Now what does that make me?" he questioned everyone.

"What does that make you?" Ratchet questioned, shocked. "That… that makes you."

* * *

Epiphany Anagram

_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ - _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

S/ E/ _/ _/ _/ _/ - _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

S/ E/ R/ I/ _/ _/ - _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

S/ E/ R/ I/ A/ L/ - _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

S/ E/ R/ I/ A/ L/ - K/ I/ _/ _/ _/ _/

S/ E/ R/ I/ A/ L/ - K/ I/ L/ L/ _/ _/

S/ E/ R/ I/ A/ L/ - K/ I/ L/ L/ E/ R/

SERIAL KILLER

RATCHET: This is what you are!

* * *

"You're the serial killer."

"Yep, I sure am," he admitted with a small nod. "Sorry for all the havoc I caused."

"But that makes no sense!" Jazz yelled. "We proved that you couldn't have listen in to our conversation."

"You're right, I didn't, which is why I relied on someone else," he told them.

"Someone else? What do you mean?"

"Relax. It's not like they know they told me it. They were drunk and using a lot of anti-depressants. They could recall it in their intoxicated state, but not after they sober up."

"Drunk? Anti-depressants?" Ratchet murmured to himself. "That could only fit one person here."

* * *

_Make an Accusation!_

Jazz

~~_Brawl_ ~~

~~_Mirage_ ~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

~~_Counterpunch_ ~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

~~_Blast Off_ ~~

Rewind

Wildrider

~~_Chromedome_ ~~

Onslaught

**Beachcomber**

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

~~_Shockwave_ ~~

Hound

~~_Vortex_ ~~

~~_Nightbeat_ ~~

~~_Soundwave_ ~~

* * *

"You're talking about Beachcomber, right?" he asked him.

"Me?!" Beachcomber asked, startled.

"Of course," Smokescreen shrugged. "He told me that in his drunken state. How fortunate for me. That actually was a wonderful coincidence."

"What the… you asshole!" Beachcomber yelled, offended.

"That's the spirit. Have a spinal column." Smokescreen approved. "I really am an asshole."

"Why did the motive influence you?" Onslaught questioned him.

"It didn't," he shrugged, much to everyone's bewilderment. "I just thought it was time to take a chance, especially with Nightbeat dead. Didn't think anybody would step up to the plate."

"You were just waiting for Nightbeat to die before you engaged in the act," Onslaught growled.

"Exactly. It's nothing personal, just had to make sure I get out," he told them.

"But… how are you the serial killer?" Swindle questioned, confused as well. "I never pegged you as one."

"Oh, Swindle, who do you think get rid of those pesky informants back in the good-old days?" he questioned him, stepping a little closer to him, and the merchant gasped.

"But, I gave you money to bribe them off. So they would just runaway!" he yelled at him.

"Scum-sucking leeches like them would only ask for more. I took care of them myself and, well, pocketed the money for myself," he told him.

"Guah… you selfish bastard!" Swindle yelled.

"Eh," he shrugged, turning away.

"Why do someone like you even support the Autobots?" Jazz questioned, sounding betrayed.

"Freedom, of course," he answered, much to everyone's confusement. "Oh, don't tell me you don't understand? I knew from the start Megatron was just another tyrant with a sympathetic backstory. His victory would pretty much destroy my revenue source. Optimus' version of government would be a lot more democratic and so much easier to take advantage of," the gambler told them.

"You were afraid Megatron would shut-down any gambling rings in a much more ruthless manner than Optimus," Onslaught realized.

"That's the gist of it, yeah," Smokescreen shrugged.

"Should we even bother summarizing your crime?" Beachcomber asked.

"Honestly, no, but that's because you were right for the wrong reasons," Smokescreen told them.

"Huh?" Ratchet questioned.

"That sound of shattered glass? That was when I spilled nitroglycerine all over the racetrack due to Nautilator knocking it out of my hand in his drunken stupor," he told them.

"It was?" Bludgeon questioned.

"Yeah. It was cleaned up that night by the night crew. If everything went as planned, Knock Out or Blurr would've die the day of the search," he told them.

"You were targeting us? Why?!" Blurr asked.

"Because you two are the least popular here," Smokescreen told them. "Figure if I was found out for the crime, might as well take out someone who was annoying or in the latter's case, insufferable during trials."

"You thought you were picking the right targets?" Ratchet questioned him.

"Yeah. Figure it help you out later if I lost this battle, which I've apparently have," he admitted.

"So, you used two bottles of nitroglycerine," Knock Out questioned. "How is that possible?"

"Well, I got the first one from my funds at the casino. That you got right. I couldn't lose while I was there. As for the second bottle, you also got that right with the betting ring. I was spent for cash after buying the first bottle, so I arrange for the betting pool and then spent all your guys' money on another vial of nitroglycerine," he told them.

"You… colossal jackass," Perceptor cursed at him.

"I still love it when you curse, Percy," Wildrider told him.

"Hey, Swindle," Smokescreen wanted his attention, turning to face him.

"What do you want, you monster?" Swindle asked him, doing the same.

"Monster? Well, after all the chaos I cause, I guess I deserve that title, but let me be honest with you. Blast Off was not the intended target of the bomb. It was always meant for whomever was in second place during the fiftieth lap," he told him.

"Second place of the fiftieth lap? How could you plan that?" Blurr questioned him.

Ratchet had a funny feeling it had to do with another piece of evidence.

* * *

Monobear File #5

Betting Pool

Storage of Betting Pool

No Refunds

Wildrider's Theory

Alibis

Bludgeon's Testimony

Energon-Stained Kitchen Knife

Dead End's Severed Arm

Tourniquet

Glass Container

Anesthesia Dispenser

Ratchet's Surgery Notes

White Line

Location of Crate

Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries

Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew

Archives

Blurr's Testimony

Shard of Glass

**Bumblebee's Testimony**

'Rusted' Stands

Checkered Line

VOF Time of Day

Gutter Entrance at the Crater

Grate

'Rust' Paint Can

Cloak and Mask

Crate

* * *

"The beeps Bumblebee heard… could they be from the bomb?" Ratchet questioned.

"You got it," Smokescreen approved.

"The beeps? They activated whenever someone crossed the line? Was there a sensor involve?" Bumblebee questioned.

"Yep. I attached a sensor to the grate and whenever the line was crossed, it count down from 100 down to zero. When it got down to zero, bye-bye last place," he told him.

"So, wait, you rigged our competition into a life-or-death race?" Knock Out questioned.

"Yeah."

"You sadistic fuck," Blurr gaped.

"I thought it make things more interesting. I was pretty confident Knock Out was going to be killed by it, considering I bet on Blurr to win, and I was right, until Swindle went through the drugs too quickly and broke out of the crate," Smokescreen muttered gravely. "I'm honestly sorry about killing Blast Off, Swindle."

"Shut it! You really expect me to believe that, after all the things you've done? Killing all those people, stealing my money, assaulting Scavenger, Dead End and Nautilator, manipulating everyone to be near the bomb site, killing Blast Off and maiming all those people. You're not sorry. You don't give a damn about me. You don't give a damn about any of us. All you care about is yourself. No one else matters. We were nothing, but pawns in this game of yours. So screw you!" Swindle shouted at him, poking him with his finger to add emphasis. His whole frame was shaking in anger at the betrayal of his suppose friend.

"Really, Swindle? You lied and fooled so many people, but you can't handle my betrayal?" he questioned him, disappointed. "We're two sides of the same coin. I know that if you betrayed me, I wouldn't take it personal. It something I would do," Smokescreen told him.

"No. That's the key difference between us. I'll lie and screw over a bunch of people, but I would never betray my friends. You know how many times, when I was interrogated by the police, to give you up, so that if they find any evidence, they would grant a lesser sentence? I said no every single time, because I had your back and I was confident that we would never be caught. You don't screw over your closest friends," Swindle told him harshly.

"Strange you would say that after what happened to Vortex and Brawl," Smokescreen responded, making him gasp before looking away. Smokescreen continued, standing confidently. "Honestly, you getting on me for killing Blast Off on accident after your actions led to both of their demises is nothing but hypocrisy. That was all your fault."

"No, it wasn't, you slagger!" Onslaught yelled at him, catching him off-guard and forcing him to shift his gaze to him. "There's a distinct difference between when he did it and when you did it. Swindle's mind was screwed up by whatever the device was and after the whole incidence, he has felt nothing but guilt and sorrow over the whole deal. You, on the other hand, did it of your own accord and you're just standing there, without a shred of guilt! Both of you have done wrong things while here. The difference is one of you feels remorse, while the other is unrepentant," he explained exactly why there was a difference between the two. Smokescreen looked genuinely surprised before crossing his arms and shrugged.

"If you insist on using that as a way to differ me and Swindle, alright. I don't understand why you think there's such a difference when we've both done the same thing, but whatever," Smokescreen brushed him off. "Anyway, I guess now is time to vote."

"If you insist," Monobear agreed. "Get out your electroID and let us see if you're-"

**HOLD ON!**

"Guah!" Monobear grunted. "I jmph bpm my tmgpm!"

"Hey, Ratchet, we made a promise, didn't we?" Wildrdider told him as Monobear was busy trying to heal its tongue.

"A promise?" Ratchet asked him.

"Yeah. You said you would investigate what happened to Dead End," he told him and the one-armed cynic groaned at that.

"Wildrider, it's nothing," Dead End told him. "We're investigating Blast Off death, not my assault. Let us just vote and we'll talk about it upstairs."

"Nuh-huh. I know you Deady and the minute we're upstairs, you're heading back to your room," Wildrider told him. "You're not getting out of this court-room until we figure out what happened to you."

"I don't mind," Smokescreen shrugged.

"Hey, you were ready to vote just a second ago," Beachcomber told him.

"I thought Blast Off's death was the only thing worth talking about, but Dead End's assault does confuse me," the gambler told them. "I'd rather die with that mystery cleared up."

"Frag yeah! Serial killer alliance!" Wildrider cheered.

"It'll be a short-lived one, but sure," Smokescreen agreed.

"Ugh… alright, I investigated what happened to Dead End and we can talk about it," Ratchet agreed. "Immediately after that, we're killing Smokescreen."

"Fine by me," Smokescreen shrugged. "I'm not a sore loser."

"I'd rather not have you linger around much longer," Perceptor muttered, "but Dead End's assault does intrigue me. I guess we can spend some time on that."

"Are you serious? Just vote Smokescreen up and we can be out of here," Dead End told them.

"Yeah. I want to see what Monobear has in stored for Smokescreen," Swindle muttered, clearly vindictive.

"I wouldn't mind either," Hoist agreed.

"You too, Hoist?" Smokescreen questioned him. "I tried to help you out after Mirage's death."

"How am I supposed to believe anything you say? I feel like everything you said was a lie," he mustered the strength to say, his fist shaking.

"That's true, it's hard to determine what I said as true or false, but there's another mystery here. You want to solve this one together, one last time?" he asked him and Hoist turned away from, still angry with him, before he spoke.

"Fine. I don't feel safe leaving any loose ends, even if it's irrelevant to the trial," Hoist agreed, turning to the group.

"Oh, come on! This trial is about who killed Blast Off and that's it!" Dead End yelled. "Since we've figured it out, we have to vote-"

"I'll allow it," Monobear told the crowd.

"What?" he gasped. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Of course I'm serious. You should understand. You just had your arm brutally hacked off," Monobear reminded him. "Of everyone here, you have the biggest reason to find a resolution to such a brutal encounter. Is there possibly another reason you don't want to talk about it?" Dead End gritted his denta in annoyance at the creature and Ratchet had a good idea why. Having your suicide attempt out in the open is something that most people wouldn't want to happen to them. Still, it was best to deal with Dead End now rather than later.

"Fine… let's talk," Dead End invited them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smokescreen is a dick.


	75. Chapter 5: Trial PT 4

“So… what do you want to talk about in my assault?” Dead End questioned them.

“Well, do you remember anything about it?” Jazz questioned him.

“No, I’m afraid not. The drugs in my system have left me a bit… flighty,” he told them.

“Consider yourself lucky to still be awake. Nautilator sure isn’t,” Bludgeon murmured gravely.

“Yes, he is. A shame….”

“Well, let’s just talk about people capable of doing the act,” Smokescreen recommended.

“Shut it!” Perceptor ordered.

“Woah, okay, sorry,” Smokescreen apologized quickly.

“Now, let’s talk about people capable of committing the act,” Perceptor recommended.

“Didn’t I just-”

“Did I give you permission to speak?” the scientist questioned him, glaring daggers at him. The serial killer gave a sigh before keeping his mouth shut. “Now, let us talk about it.”

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo Available: Wildrider’s Theory, Monobear #5, Dead End’s Severed Arm, Tourniquet, Bludgeon’s Testimony, Alibis

PERCEPTOR: We’re looking for the person that could’ve assaulted Dead End.

PERCEPTOR: Who could’ve possibly done it?

HOIST: I bet it was **_Smokescreen_** again.

HOIST: He attacked Dead End once.

HOIST: Could’ve done it again to keep him quiet.

SMOKESCREEN: Speaking up to defend myself for this one.

SMOKESCREEN: I was at the announcer’s booth since the race started.

SMOKESCREEN: All of you heard me and even Monobear can vouch for me.

MONOBEAR: I can confirm that he was in the booth the entire time.

MONOBEAR: We announced the race like bosses.

SMOKESCREEN: See? Alibi is rock-solid.

HOIST: Grr…

SMOKESCREEN: You really don’t like me much anymore, do you?

ONSLAUGHT: What about **_Bludgeon_**?

ONSLAUGHT: He’s the only one I recalled not being at the race at all.

BLUDGEON: I’m not foolish.

BLUDGEON: Attacking Dead End would leave me the obvious suspect.

WILDRIDER: **_Maybe no one did it._**

WILDRIDER Isn’t that a possibility?

JAZZ: What you getting on about?

WIDRIDER: Just a suggestion.

WILDRIDER: We’re all searching for the truth here.

* * *

RATCHET: I agreed.

Ammo Used: Alibis

* * *

 “You know, Wildrider does have a point. I don’t recall anyone leaving the stands when the race was going on, Smokescreen was up at the announcer booth, and Bludgeon isn’t stupid enough to commit the crime, along with the fact that he hadn’t clean himself recently,” Ratchet told the group.

“There was a bunch of energon splattered around the area, so it makes sense for the culprit to at least get some on themselves,” Skywarp muttered. “If Bludgeon hasn’t showered recently, then he couldn’t have been the one to assault Dead End.”

“If that’s true, then who could’ve attacked Dead End?” Blurr questioned.

“I have a hunch. Want me to point the person out right now?” Ratchet told them.

“Of course. I want to get Smokescreen’s execution underway,” Swindle told him, shifting his glare to the gambler next to him.

“Alright. The person who assaulted Dead End was….”

* * *

_Make an Accusation!_

Jazz

 _~~Brawl~~ _

_~~Mirage~~ _

**Dead End**

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

 _~~Counterpunch~~ _

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

_Blast Off_

Rewind

Wildrider

 _~~Chromedome~~ _

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

Ratchet

Scavenger

Perceptor

 _~~Shockwave~~ _

Hound

 _~~Vortex~~ _

_~~Nightbeat~~ _

_~~Soundwave~~ _

* * *

 

“…Dead End himself.”

“Huh?” Swindle grunted, confused. “You’re saying it’s a suicide attempt?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm, are you sure?” Dead End questioned him. “I sure don’t remember that.”

“Don’t lie to me, Deady! I’m sure you did it to yourself,” Wildrider yelled at him.

“And I have no recollection of it,” he insisted and the maniac was getting annoyed.

“Oh, really, Deady? You’re going to play dumb, something which you’re distinctly not?” he questioned him.

“Let me guess. You’re the one who suggested the idea of suicide in the first place, right?” Dead End questioned his gestaltmate.

“Hmm-hmm, of course I did.”

“Why do you idiots continue to believe the crazy person?” he asked the trial members.

“Hey, calm down,” Onslaught ordered. “Let’s just talk about it like we normally do, okay? No arguing between you two.”

“Urg, fine,” the cynic agreed with a nod from the maniac.

“Good, now let’s talk about this hypothesis of Ratchet and Wildrider’s and see how it holds up,” Onslaught ordered everyone.

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Alibis, Ratchet's Surgery Notes, Bludgeon's Testimony, Wildrider's Theory, Glass Container, Dead End's Severed Arm

ONSLAUGHT: So, you say Dead End’s assault…

ONSLAUGHT: …was actually a suicide attempt?

REWIND: That’s a very odd claim.

SCAVENGER: How could he **chop it off**?

DEAD END: Why do you continue to humor their proposition?

BEACHCOMBER: Well, **everyone else has alibis** for the time of it.

MIXMASTER: It might be pointless…

MIXMASTER: …but if you did it to yourself…

MIXMASTER: …then we need to confront you about it.

JAZZ: It’s for your safety, Dead End.

JAZZ: Just work with us and **we can help you**.

DEAD END: Help me?

DEAD END: With all the things I know…

DEAD END: …I’m sure that won’t happen.

BUMBLEBEE: Come on. Really?

BUMBLEBEE: Just put your cynicism aside and let us help you!

DEAD END: There’s nothing to save except a painful existence.

DEAD END: I wished the person who attacked me…

DEAD END: …would’ve **just been thorough**.

SKYWARP: Ugh, I swear…

SKYWARP: …just listening to you speak is making me depressed.

SKYWARP: Stop it!

* * *

RATCHET: That ‘s wrong!

Ammo used: Dead End’s Severed Arm

* * *

 “Chop it off?” Ratchet questioned Scavenger. “What makes you think that?”

“Huh? I mean, it makes the most sense. If you’re attacking someone and taking one of their arms off, than it would make sense to slice the arm off with a slicing motion,” Scavenger told him.

“That’s true, which is why Dead End’s severed arm is odd. Judging by what happened to the wires, the arm was severed via a sawing motion,” the medic informed him.

“It was?” Scavenger questioned. “That’s very strange. If you’re attacked by someone and had your arm chopped off, presuming you give a fight, it would be quick and mobile. Being sawing off indicates the person was either really still or they were somehow attacked with a chainsaw.”

“Oh, the chainsaw sounds so awesome, I almost want it to be true,” Wildrider grinned.

“The wires were sawed off in a back-and-forth way, indicating a bladed weapon being used to go back and forth. No chainsaw in the foreseeable future,” Ratchet remarked quickly.

“Aw….”

“Well, did you at least recover a weapon?” Bludgeon questioned them.

“Yeah. It was a kitchen knife. Not exactly the best weapon to use,” Skywarp answered. “We didn’t have enough time to check on whether or not it came from Dead End’s room or not due to the whole bomb situation, so no luck tracing that to him.”

“That isn’t necessary, since it seems obvious that Dead End did to himself,” Perceptor muttered. “As has already been established, everyone except Dead End and Bludgeon had alibis for the assault, and it’s highly doubtful Bludgeon would be foolish enough to attack Dead End when he’s the only one capable of it.”

“Aside from that, it’s foolish to think I would leave a survivor of my attacks,” Bludgeon told them. “If I did attacked Dead End, he would be dead. Nothing more.”

“How honest…,” Beachcomber murmured.

“So, to conclude, the knife was used to saw Dead End’s arm in a sawing motion, correct?” Scavenger asked again.

“Correct,” Ratchet agreed.

“You’re wrong,” Dead End muttered.

“Really? Still insisting on that?” Knock Out questioned. “Listen, we got an execution to pull off here and your stubbornness is keeping me from enjoying it.”

“Keep it up, Dead End,” Smokescreen encouraged.

“Please, give up, Dead End,” Perceptor butted in.

"You people are incessantly annoying,” Dead End growled. “Besides, there’s a good reason why I didn’t do it.”

“Oh, there’s a reason? Pray tell?” Skywarp beckoned him.

“With pleasure.”

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Alibis, Ratchet's Surgery Notes, Bludgeon's Testimony, Wildrider's Theory, Glass Container, Dead End's Severed Arm

DEAD END: There is one good reason as to why…

DEAD END: … **I couldn’t have kill myself**.

SKYWARP: And what is that?

DEAD END: Simple.

DEAD END: As you know, my body has taken…

DEAD END: … **a bit of a toll** due to the drugs and my first assault.

BLUDGEON: I understand.

BLUDGEON: Nautilator has still not woken up from his coma.

DEAD END: Exactly my point.

DEAD END: My body has been so damaged…

DEAD END: …that I **couldn’t move about**.

DEAD END: Wildrider can even admit that.

DEAD END: I got to the trial room based solely on his help.

WILDRIDER: That’s true.

WILDRIDER: He is really weak right now.

DEAD END: Exactly.

DEAD END: It’s for that reason…

DEAD END: …that it’s foolish to think I tried to killed myself.

* * *

RATCHET: That’s wrong!

Ammo Used: Bludgeon’s Testimony

* * *

“Dead End, I understand how much pain you must be in, but claiming you were unable to get around is impossible,” Ratchet told him.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Dead End questioned them.

“Because I saw you moving myself,” Bludgeon told him, surprising him. “Before your second ‘assault,’ I saw you moving about in the mall.”

“Man, Bludgeon. Your presence has ruined more than one person’s testimony today. Impressive,” Smokescreen praised him.

“You’re like jungle rot,” Beachcomber muttered.

“Anyway, Bludgeon can confirmed that you were up and about, which means that your claim of being unable to move about on your own is a lie,” Ratchet informed Dead End, who looked annoyed, before speaking.

“Fine, I lied about that part, although I genuinely can’t move about much now,” Dead End told them.

“That’s what happens when you cut your own arm off!” Wildrider yelled at him.

“I didn’t do that.”

“Dead End, we can get you counseling. Just work with us here,” Ratchet tried to appeal to him.

“That would be effective if I actually did it,” he told them.

“Your denial of the facts is starting to grate on me,” Hoist muttered. “I want to end this trial quickly, so just give up.”

“I didn’t cut my arm off,” he told them. “I have no memory of the assault, so quit asking me about it.”

“Is there any way to confirm that he had any recollection of it?” Jazz questioned. “If his action indicate that he had to have act on it, then maybe something he did would show that he had to be involved in it.”

“There isn’t anything. I have no recollection of the event. How many times do I have to say that?” he questioned them.

“Hey… Ratchet, you think something about the state of Dead End’s body when we found him could indicate that he had to know what happened to him,” Skywarp asked the medic.

“I believe I have an idea,” Ratchet agreed.

“Your ideas are those of a fool. I don’t remember anything,” Dead End insisted.

“You do, Dead End, and I’ll prove it!”

“No you won’t!”

* * *

Machine Gun Talk Battle!

Ammunition Available: Monobear #5, Energon-Stained Kitchen Knife, Tourniquet

SHIELD X8

DEAD END: You are insane!

SHIELD X7

DEAD END: Sophist!

SHIELD X6

DEAD END: You can’t help me.

SHIELD X5

DEAD END: You’re lacking reason.

SHIELD X4

DEAD END: Let’s be realistic.

SHIELD X3

DEAD END: We’re doomed!

SHIELD X2

DEAD END: Shut up!

SHIELD X1

DEAD END: There’s nothing to help.

_Shield Destroyed_

DEAD END: **I wasn’t aware of my attack!**

* * *

RATCHET: This proves you did.

Ammo Used: Tourniquet

* * *

 “Wildrider and Bludgeon, when you found Dead End, he had a tourniquet on him, correct?” Ratchet questioned the two of them.

“Yes, he did,” Wildrider confirmed.

“He speaks the truth,” Bludgeon acknowledged. “We found him unconscious with the tourniquet on him.”

“Right, which leaves us with a question. If Dead End was unable to remember anything, how would he be mentally capable of putting a tourniquet on himself?” Ratchet questioned everyone.

“You got a pic to go with that?” Smokescreen questioned him.

“I do,” Wildrider told them, bringing his electroID out and quickly getting to the picture before passing it around. As he was doing this, Dead End was hunched over, gritting his denta and clenching his single fist in anger. When everyone was done looking at it, Ratchet spoke up again.

“So, Dead End, I find it strange that you claim that you can’t recall a thing since you were level-headed enough to have applied a tourniquet to yourself,” Ratchet told him. “It was done really well too. Metal was pressed tightly to dent the arm in to cut off the energon-flow, giving me enough time to save you.”

“If Dead End was attempting to kill himself, why did he apply the tourniquet to himself?” Bumblebee questioned. “I find that odd.”

“He probably regretted it,” Wildrider told them. “This isn’t his first suicide attempt, even though this is his most successful.”

“Has he ever been to a therapist?” Jazz questioned.

“Decepticons don’t have any forms of therapy,” Knock Out told them the sad truth. “It's part of the reason a high amount of the soldiers experience some form of mental instability.”

“So, Dead End, how about you just finally admit that you cut your own arm off,” Perceptor told him. Dead End glanced at the room, looking nervous, and was keeping his hand on the podium to balance himself. Ratchet could tell that he was conflicted. He’s dealt with patients sustaining injuries from suicide attempts before, and they were always reluctant to speak about it.

“Dead End, you don’t have to talk about it if you want to, but it’s impossible to deny that you did saw your arm off,” Ratchet told him, earning his attention. “Just tell us that you did and we’ll end the trial.” Dead End looked uncertain, and Ratchet knew he was thinking this through carefully. He just had to say it and they could end this trial.

“Yes, I did it” he finally admitted. “Can we finally vote?” The crowd was silence as they looked at each other, silently talking to each other.

“I would have no problem with that,” Hoist spoke up, glaring at Smokescreen. “We have an execution to undertake.” At that, everyone else silently agree, barring Smokescreen, who was keeping quiet, seemingly contemplating something.

“Alright, if you are all sure this time,” Monobear said, sounding a bit more cautious this time. “Go ahead and take your electroID out and place your-”

**HOLD IT!**

“Gwhm!” Monobear grunted again. “Nmt agmpt!” The room was shocked at another interruption before getting annoyed at the identity of who interrupted them this time: Smokescreen.

“Oh, what do you have to say this time? An apology for all of your misdeeds at a last attempt at sympathy?” Hoist questioned him.

“Huh, you think I do that?” Smokescreen questioned. “I see no reason to justify my actions.”

“Then what do you have to say?” Swindle questioned him, sounding ticked off.

“Well, it’s simple. Dead End’s suicide attempt has a baffling inconsistency,” Smokescreen told them and that surprised everyone.

“What do you mean?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Ratchet, think about the order of events of Dead End’s suicide attempt if it went exactly as he wants us to think,” he told him.

“The order of events?” Ratchet muttered, thinking it through.

* * *

_Logic Dive!_

Question #1: Which would come first?

Getting the knife

Sawing the arm off

Applying the Tourniquet

…

**Getting the Knife**

…

Question #2: What would happen next?

Applying the tourniquet

Wildrider and Bludgeon finding him

Sawing the arm off

…

**Sawing the arm off**

...

Question #3: What would happen after cutting his arm off?

Wildrider and Bludgeon finding him

Applying the tourniquet

…

**Applying the tourniquet**

RATCHET: This is the order of events.

* * *

 

“First, he would have to get the knife and bring it back to the operating room. After that, he cuts it off and apply the tourniquet after that before falling unconscious and Wildrider and Bludgeon find him,” Ratchet told him.

“Exactly, so why is one of those out of order?” he questioned him.

“Huh?”

“Think about it. I haven’t investigated the suicide attempt at all, so what could I object over?” he question him.

* * *

What is it that Smokescreen could object over?

When Dead End got his knife.

When he cut his arm off.

**When he applied his tourniquet**

When Wildrider and Bludgeon found him

* * *

 

“It would be when he apply the tourniquet. After all, Wildrider passed the photo around, so you could’ve seen it,” Ratchet answered his question.

“Exactly,” Smokescreen acknowledge.

“You know… I’ve had an odd feeling about it as well,” Ratchet told the court.

“But what’s the problem with it?” Wildrider questioned.

“Something is on it that really shouldn’t be there,” Smokescreen told them.

“There is? What’s wrong with it?” Blurr questioned.

“I think I understand now,” Ratchet told them. “The problem is…”

* * *

_Epiphany Anagram_

E/ _/ _/ _/ G/ _/ _/ - S/ _/ _/ A/ _/ _/ E/ _/

E/ N/ E/ _/ G/ _/ _/ - S/ _/ _/ A/ _/ _/ E/ _/

E/ N/ E/ R/ G/ _/ _/ - S/ _/ _/ A/ _/ _/ E/ _/

E/ N/ E/ R/ G/ O/ N/ - S/ _/ _/ A/ _/ _/ E/ _/

E/ N/ E/ R/ G/ O/ N/ - S/ P/ L/ A/ _/ _/ E/ _/

E/ N/ E/ R/ G/ O/ N/ - S/ P/ L/ A/ T/ T/ E/ R/

ENERGON SPLATTER

RATCHET: This is it!

* * *

 

“…the energon splatter.”

“The energon splatter? What’s wrong with that? If you cut your arm off, you can expect it to splatter a lot of energon,” Skywarp rejected his claim.

“But, that’s the problem. You can see two types of energon on it. The energon splatter and a large energon stain from the energon pool,” he told him. “The large stain, I’m okay with, but the splatter? That indicates that the tourniquet was already made when he cut his arm off.”

“That’s not the only thing odd about it. Look at how the splatter is angled. Droplets with streaks going away from the cut-off point of Dead End’s arm. That indicates that the tourniquet was already on at the time he cut his arm off,” Smokescreen told them.

“Wait, what,” Wildrider stumbled, not knowing what’s going on. “Why the frag would anyone do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? What are tourniquets use for?” Smokescreen questioned.

* * *

What would Dead End use the tourniquet for?

**To keep himself from bleeding out**

To fake a suicide attempt

* * *

 “To keep himself from bleeding out. If you have to cut your arm off in an emergency situation, then you make a tourniquet before doing so,” Ratchet explained.

“Which is exactly what Dead End did, which begs the question of why did he apply the tourniquet before attempting his suicide attempt?” Smokescreen told everyone.

“That… doesn’t make any sense!” Bludgeon growled, glaring at the poet. “What is the meaning of this confusion?!” Dead End didn’t say anything, keeping his head down as they were decoding this whole thing.

“I have no idea why it’s like that… but it’s clear there’s more to Dead End’s suicide attempt than we first thought,” Ratchet announced, getting ready to figure it out, but he couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about all this. This was completely abnormal. Whatever it was, he had to figure it out before Dead End could hide from the others.


	76. Chapter 5: Trial PT 5

“Right, Dead End’s suicide attempt. What was the point of it?” Smokescreen asked the group.

“I think it would be best to get it from the source,” Perceptor muttered, looking at Dead End inquisitively, who was keeping his head down and his hand on the podium.

“He doesn’t appear to be in a talking mood,” Jazz noticed.

“Maybe we can look at intention,” Mixmaster recommended.

“Intention?” Blurr muttered. “He’s suicidal. Nothing more.”

“If he was simply just suicidal, than he wouldn’t bother placing the tourniquet on him. Obviously, he intended to survive having his arm sawed off from the very beginning,” Bludgeon muttered.

“Yeah. It makes the most sense, which means that this wasn’t a suicide attempt,” Wildrider realized.

“You foolish idiot,” Dead End growled, surprising the maniac. “This was always a suicide attempt.”

“If that’s true, then why did you apply the tourniquet?” Rewind questioned him and Dead End went quiet again.

“So… if this was always a suicide attempt, than maybe we can look for another way for Dead End to kill himself,” Ratchet recommended.

“What other way could there be to kill oneself in the situation he was in?” Bludgeon questioned.

“Since he had the tourniquet on before he saw his arm off, maybe he had something planned out after his first suicide attempt,” Smokescreen recommended.

“That’s unlikely,” Bludgeon murmured. “When Wildrider found him, he was unconscious from the shock of it.”

“Aw, yeah. He was, wasn’t he,” Smokescreen muttered, disappointed.

“What could’ve been his second suicide attempt?” Scavenger muttered. “It doesn’t look like he could do anything.”

“Let’s find out.”

* * *

_Nonstop Debate!_

Ammo Available: Bludgeon’s Testimony, Glass Container, Dead End’s Severed Arm, Alibis, Energon-Stained Knife

SMOKESCREEN: So, how could he do it?

WILDRIDER: He was unconscious…

WILDRIDER: …so he **couldn’t get back up** after sawing his arm.

SCAVENGER: He might’ve not known that would happen.

SCAVENGER: Might’ve thought he could just handle the pain.

KNOCK OUT: Some people can handle the pain…

KNOCK OUT: …but it’s very **unlikely to happen**.

HOIST: How could he plan anything beforehand?

SWINDLE: I don’t know.

SWINDLE: **All he had was a knife** , right?

SWINDLE: The only way I can imagine him committing suicide…

SWINDLE: …is by sawing his arm off.

BLURR: That does look like the only way.

BLURR: Can’t you just tell us, Dead End?

DEAD END: …

BLURR: Of course, not.

* * *

RATCHET: That’s wrong!

Ammo Used: Glass Container

* * *

 

“Hold on. The knife wasn’t the only thing Dead End had,” Ratchet told them.

“It wasn’t?” Swindle gasped. “What else did he have?”

“A glass container,” Bludgeon muttered. “If I'm correct, Ratchet and Skywarp recover it.”

“It was in the sink, having been cleaned,” Ratchet told him. “Nothing left except for a few droplets of water.”

“Why did he clean the container?” Onslaught questioned.

“That should be easy to explain, right Ratchet?” Smokescreen questioned him.

* * *

Why did Dead End clean the container?

**To make sure no one knows what was once in it.**

He’s a clean freak.

He wanted to reuse it for something else.

* * *

 

“My best guess would be that he wanted to make sure we didn’t know what was in it,” Ratchet told him.

“Mine too,” Smokescreen agreed. “Now, how does that relate to his suicide attempt?”

“I… don’t know,” Ratchet murmured.

“There has to be a purpose if he brought it with him,” Rewind said.  

“Well, care to tell us what was in it, Dead End?” Jazz questioned him and he continued to ignore them.

“Not very talkative today, aren’t we?” Knock Out sardonically said.

“Well, it had to help him out with his suicide somehow, so maybe he ingested it?” Hoist theorized.

“If that was true and if was something that would kill him, then he should be dead by now,” Skywarp rebuked instantly.

“Did I just get shutdown by Skywarp?” Hoist muttered in disbelief.

“So, if it wasn’t something that killed him, what else could it be?” Blurr questioned everyone.

“Woah, woah, hold on there. Just because he didn’t ingest it doesn’t mean he couldn't have found another way to get it into his system,” Smokescreen told him.

“Then why isn’t he dead?” he immediately responded.

“I… don’t know. Maybe something went wrong,” the gambler recommended.

“So you have nothing? Are you just stalling your execution?” Blurr questioned him.

“No. I’m just making sure we don’t discount an idea without giving it proper thought,” he answered honestly.

“Frankly, I agree with Smokescreen on this one, as much as it pains me to do so,” Ratchet responded.

“You do?” Blurr questioned.

“Let’s be honest, if what’s in the container wasn’t lethal, then Dead End wouldn’t have any use for it,” the medic told them. “He was attempting suicide, so it had to be something that’ll kill him when it would get into his body, which leaves four possible methods of it killing him.”

“Four? What are they?” Scavenger questioned, sounding a little afraid.

“First, obviously, is ingestion. Second is through injection. Third is through a gas while the fourth is touch. Of these four, which one of these would be Dead End’s method for suicide?” Perceptor questioned.

“Of the four,” Ratchet interrupted, “I would say…”

* * *

Which of these would be Dead End’s preferred method of death?

Ingestion

**Injection**

Airborne

Touch

* * *

 

“…injection is the most likely. Airborne is out of the question immediately, as it would’ve affected other people, which takes out touch for similar reasons. I’d probably be dead if touch was the method. Ingestion is unlikely, since he cleaned the container, meaning he already transfer it out of the container. Injection is the only thing I could think of since it would be another place to store it,” Ratchet gave his response.

“Indeed, logically, it makes the most sense,” Perceptor agreed. “Was there a syringe with a strange liquid around the area?”

“We didn’t find anything,” Skywarp told them. “It’s probably hidden somewhere where we couldn’t find it.”

“Say, Ratchet, did you take a picture of the container?” Smokescreen questioned.

“Yeah, I did. Want to take a look at it?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Yes, please,” he agreed and Ratchet gave a shrug before pulling his electroID out, getting a picture of the container out, and passing it off to Knock Out, who handed it to Smokescreen with an air of disdain. He looked at it for a minute before giving it back to Knock Out, who returned it to Ratchet.

“So, are we finished with this? We’re obviously looking for a syringe that we can find later,” Bludgeon questioned them.

“Before we end it, can I point something out to Ratchet in the photo?” Smokescreen questioned him.

“If it’s related to the attempted suicide, go ahead,” Bludgeon offered.

“Alright, what do you want to point out?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Instead of looking at the container, can you look at the sink?” Smokescreen pointed out.

“Huh?” Ratchet muttered as he examined the sink. It looked to be good enough. It was a nice silver bowl that looked spotless, burning a few strange discolorations around the drain, liked it was burned a bit. “Are you sure this means anything?”

“I’m not sure. I just thought it should be spotless,” he shrugged. “I thought those marks were out of place.”

“You think those marks could’ve been caused by the liquid in the container?” Ratchet muttered.

“It’s a guess. The best one I got. I doubt you’ve used it for much,” Smokescreen shrugged.

“It’s true. We haven’t used it for anything, really, except to make sure the medical equipment is clean. It’s certainly a bit odd,” Ratchet acknowledge. “Not sure what could’ve caused these really small burn marks.”

“I know. Strange,” Smokescreen muttered.

“Small burn marks in the sink?” Mixmaster muttered. “If that’s true, then it’s probably an acid of some sort, but that can’t be. The only place that has acid are the science labs and I keep perfect inventory of it. No way could Dead End have stolen some in that time span.”

“That’s true. Ever since Shockwave stole some, no one has been able to get some. We locked the science cabinet each night and me and Mixmaster are the only ones with the key. No one could’ve stolen it the whole time we’ve been here,” Perceptor informed everyone.

“And there wasn’t any acid being sold at the store, so he couldn’t have bought some,” Beachcomber told everyone.

“So this is a foolish exercise. The stains must’ve been there since before we’ve arrived at the area,” Mixmaster summarized.

“Yeah, I guess, unless someone has an idea of where someone could’ve got some,” Smokescreen agreed and Ratchet was thinking through it. Dead End obtaining the acid was unlikely, so it was best just to push on and ignore it, but this was bothering him for some reason.

“Could you repeat all that?” Ratchet requested. “I just want to make sure that’s right.”

“Of course. Let’s repeat what we said,” Mixmaster told them.

* * *

Nonstop Debate

Ammo Available: Tourniquet, Container

MIXMASTER: **No one could’ve used acid.**

MIXMASTER: I made some acid on the first night.

MIXMASTER: Shockwave stole some that night…

MIXMASTER: …as : **someone’s testimony:** can verified.

PERCEPTOR: That in turn was stolen by Soundwave…

PERCEPTOR: …who used it against the previous owner.

PERCEPTOR: After the first night…

PERCEPTOR: …me and Mixmaster kept the acid locked up...

PERCEPTOR: **Preventing anyone from stealing it after the first night.**

BEACHCOMBER: The science store…

BEACHCOMBER: … **held no acid whatsoever.**

MIXMASTER: There. Any problems?

* * *

RATCHET: That’s incorrect!

Ammo Used: Someone’s Testimony

* * *

 

“Hold on, who’s testimony did we use to confirm that Shockwave stole the vial of acid?” Ratchet questioned.

“Who it was?” Mixmaster questioned, scratching his head. “My memory banks are a bit fractured. I can’t remember.”

“If I’m correct, wasn’t that… **Dead End**?” Smokescreen questioned.

“Huh?!” Mixmaster gasped. “It was?!”

“Yeah, I believe so,” Onslaught murmured, sounding suspicious. “He was out that night.”

“Then, isn’t it likely that Dead End could’ve stolen some acid as well on the first night?” Ratchet questioned everyone.

“What?!” Mixmaster growled. “That’s impossible! He had no reason for it. Why would he steal some that night?”

“Yeah, that doesn’t make sense!” Wildrider yelled. “I was living with him at the time and I didn’t see a container of acid in the area.”

“Did you search everywhere?” Ratchet questioned him.

“Well, no, uh, but-”

“So it could’ve been in there?” Ratchet interrupted him.

“Is there any proof that two people stole acid that day?” Perceptor interrupted him.

“I think so. If I remember…”

* * *

What proves that two people could’ve stolen acid on the first night?

The amount of acid stolen

**The amount of people that could be killed from it**

The container it was left in

* * *

 

“…you said that two people could be killed from it.”

“I did?” Mixmaster asked.

“Yes, you did. Remember?” Ratchet reminded him.

_"Judging from my estimates, about enough to kill two people are missing from this. We should be more careful around everybody with this knowledge," he advised the group._

“You said that about the amount of acid stolen. That leaves the possibility of two people stealing a container of acid for themselves on the field,” Ratchet told him.

“Shockwave stole one and Dead End stole the other,” Perceptor muttered.

“You have no proof,” Dead End muttered suddenly, surprising everyone.

“Yeah, but in this case, I doubt we need to prove whether or not where you stole it. Shockwave was logical enough to decide that he probably only needed one vial for a kill and you copied him for your amount,” Ratchet told him.

“Ratchet, please, stop looking into this. For your own good,” Dead End begged him. For his own good? Why was he talking about him and no one else?

“No way, buddy,” Wildrider told him. “You don’t get to keep secrets from me and expect them to not come out!”

“Please, just stop! It’ll only bring misery and despair,” he told them.

“Misery and despair?” Monobear repeated. “Well then, you all just have to find this out!”

“Okay. I’m automatically suspicious if Monobear wants us to find this out,” Beachcomber said timidly. “Is this really necessary?”

“Isn’t it always?” Smokescreen asked. “We’ve haven’t got this far by ignoring the truth when it’s uncomfortable.”

“You displayed that quite evidently,” Knock Out told him. “I’m still imagining your execution. Oh, schadenfreude.”

“Still, we have to ask ourselves what Dead End could’ve used to inject the acid in himself. It’s quite baffling how he could’ve done it,” he reminded him.

“Yes, how?” Swindle muttered. “What could he have used?”

“We’re looking for a syringe. That’s it. Where did he placed the syringe? We have to make sure it hasn’t been used,” Rewind told them.

“Syringe,” Ratchet muttered. If Dead End placed them in a syringe, where did he put it? He had all that time laying on his berth, talking to Ratchet, looking at his every movement…

Wait. His every movement.

“Guah!” Ratchet grunted. “You didn’t, Dead End! Don’t tell me you did what you did!”

“Woah! What’s gotten into you?” Jazz questioned.

“You’re not known for sudden outbursts like that,” Perceptor noticed nervously.

“Tell me, Dead End! Dammit, tell me!” Ratchet continued, holding to his stand with his frame shaking.

“Ratchet, are you… afraid?” Knock Out asked, stunned by his sudden transformation.

“Ratchet, can you tell us where he placed the acid?” Smokescreen questioned him, wondering what was wrong.

“The acid! It’s… it’s….”

* * *

Epiphany Anagram!

_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

_/ _/ E/ _/ T/ H/ _/ S/ _/ _/

A/ N/ E/ _/ T/ H/ _/ S/ _/ _/

A/ N/ E/ S/ T/ H/ E/ S/ _/ _/

A/ N/ E/ S/ T/ H/ E/ S/ I/ A/

ANESTHESIA

RATCHET: It’s here!

* * *

 

“It was in the anesthesia!” he told everyone.

“The anesthesia?” Knock Out asked.

“Yes, and that means Smokescreen was never the one who killed Blast Off,” he told everyone.

“Huh?” Swindle gasped.

“What?!” Onslaught yelled.

“Are you fucking serious,” Smokescreen could barely uttered. Even he was shocked by this.

“Ratchet, shut up!” Dead End yelled at him.

“No, the killer of the case must be revealed!” Ratchet told him.

“Who’s the killer?” Hoist questioned, afraid.

“The killer could only be one person.”

* * *

_Make an Accusation!_

Jazz

 _~~Brawl~~ _ ~~~~

_~~Mirage~~ _ ~~~~

Dead End

Bumblebee

Mixmaster

Blurr

Skywarp

 _~~Counterpunch~~ _ ~~~~

Bludgeon

Drift

Nautilator

Hoist

 _~~Blast Off~~ _

Rewind

Wildrider

 _~~Chromedome~~ _ ~~~~

Onslaught

Beachcomber

Swindle

Smokescreen

Knock Out

**Ratchet**

Scavenger

Perceptor

 _~~Shockwave~~ _ ~~~~

Hound

 _~~Vortex~~ _ ~~~~

_~~Nightbeat~~ _ ~~~~

_~~Soundwave~~ _

* * *

 

“The person who killed Blast Off… is me,” Ratchet uttered gravely, surprising everyone.

“No, shut up!” Dead End yelled. “He’s talking crazy. Don’t listen to him!”

“I wish I was crazy, but that’s the truth. I’m Blast Off’s killer.”

“Woah, woah, hold on!” Blurr yelled out. “We have no proof of this!”

“It’s the truth, believe me!” Ratchet yelled to them.

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo Available: Bludgeon's Testimony, Glass Container, Anesthesia Dispenser, Monobear File #5, Ratchet's Surgery Notes

BEACHCOMBER: What the hell’s going on?

BEACHCOMBER: Ratchet **isn’t a murderer**.

RATCHET: It’s the truth. Believe me!

DEAD END: Don’t believe him. He’s lying!

HOIST: He said the anesthesia, right?

HOIST: How is that related?

HOIST: Is has **nothing to do with the murder!**

DEAD END: That’s correct. Nothing at all.

DEAD END: All we’re listening to is the **words of a madman.**

DEAD END: Nothing more.

SMOKESCREEN: Your sudden rise in speaking is troubling.

* * *

RATCHET: That’s wrong!

Ammo Used: Ratchet’s Surgery Notes

* * *

 

“Hoist, I have a detail list of my surgery notes after the bombing. On it, you’ll note that I used anesthesia in this order. Blast Off, Dead End, Knock Out, Laserbeak, and Hound,” Ratchet informed him.

“So you used anesthesia to calm the patients down before surgery. What’s wrong with that?” Hoist questioned him.

“If the acid was in the anesthesia, then when I injected it into Blast Off’s body, it would’ve killed him almost immediately after injection. Hell, right after I injected it into Blast Off’s body, he seemed to have just gotten worst all of a sudden.”

_Ratchet quickly injected it into him to calm his thrashing form at the neck. At that, Blast Off weak yells became louder as his body started calming down. "Blast Off, don't worry. It's just anesthesia to knock you out while I fix your wounds," he told him. Blast Off continued to struggle about before he grabbed a hold of Ratchet upper arm, staring at him with his orange optics in pain. "Blast Off, please calm down, it'll be- ugh!" he yelled as Blast Off coughed energon in his face before his arm went limped. Ratchet wiped the energon off his face before going over to check his pulse. After a minute, he sighed as he took it off and looked up at the digital clock._

_"Time of death: 12:47," he murmured in regret._

“As soon as I injected him with the syringe, his condition worsened to a fatal degree,” Ratchet told everyone.

“But does that prove anything?” Dead End questioned him. “You have no direct proof of your claims.”

“Actually, I do,” he told him, surprising the cynic.

* * *

_Present evidence!_

Monobear File #5

Betting Pool

Storage of Betting Pool

No Refunds

Wildrider's Theory

Alibis

Bludgeon's Testimony

Energon-Stained Kitchen Knife

Dead End's Severed Arm

Tourniquet

Glass Container

**Anesthesia Dispenser**

Ratchet's Surgery Notes

White Line

Location of Crate

Dead End and Nautilator's Head Injuries

Onslaught's Nighttime Search Crew

Archives

Blurr's Testimony

Shard of Glass

Bumblebee's Testimony

'Rusted' Stands

Checkered Line

VOF Time of Day

Gutter Entrance at the Crater

Grate

'Rust' Paint Can

Cloak and Mask

Crate

* * *

 

“I currently have one syringe full of anesthesia left in my dispenser,” he told the court.

“And that’s relevant… how?” Skywarp questioned, although he had bad feeling that was extremely relevant.

“Before the race, I made and placed five syringes of the anesthesia in the dispenser. You’ll note that I used the dispenser five times, so logic dictates I should have zero remaining. Yet, when I looked into the dispenser, there was one left. I never noticed the significance of it until now, but that conclusively proves my point. Dead End made another syringe full of anesthesia. He was watching my every movement when in the med-bay, so he could’ve replicated my work and added his own finishing touch, the acid,” Ratchet told everyone.

“But, wait, if that’s true, then wouldn’t Dead End be the killer in this case?” Swindle questioned him.

“Allow me to step in!” Monobear yelled excitedly. “There’s a bunch of bylaws for things like this, so let me just clarify. If Dead End placed the acid in the anesthesia and convince someone else to use on themselves, then it would be Dead End that’s the culprit. If he simply added the acid, but let someone else use it, than that person would be the killer, whether they realize it or not and whether they killed someone else or Dead End.”

“What?! But that’s insane!” Onslaught yelled at him. “How can you just remove all responsibility from Dead End just like that?”

“Oh, he’s not removed from responsibility. He’ll just be an accomplice for the crime rather than the killer, therefore, he doesn’t leave if the scheme works, but he doesn’t get executed either if it doesn’t work,” he continued to explain.

“When Dead End said this was always a suicide attempt, he wasn’t lying. He just intended it to come across as murder this time,” Ratchet told everyone. “Even after he failed, he must’ve realized that his scheme still worked with Blast Off’s demise, so he let the court run its course in order to continue his suicide attempt, in this case, to take everyone down with him except for me.”

“That… isn’t possible, right?” Bumblebee asked nervously. “This is insane.”

“Ratchet… isn’t a killer. We haven’t even proved that the acid finished Blast Off,” Knock Out denied his claims and Ratchet was getting ticked. He knew he was sacrificing his life for everyone else, but could they work with him, dammit!

* * *

Nonstop Debate!

Ammo Available: Bludgeon's Testimony, Glass Container, Anesthesia Dispenser, Monobear File #5, Ratchet's Surgery Notes

KNOCK OUT: **Ratchet isn’t the killer**.

KNOCK OUT: That idea is simply absurd!

SMOKESCREEN: I wouldn’t mind if Ratchet was the killer…

SMOKESCREEN: …but the **bomb killed Blast Off**.

SMOKESCREEN: We’ve all seen his corpse.

ONSLAUGHT: Thanks for reminding us, you fragger.

SMOKESCREEN: Just proving a point.

BUMBLEBEE: Yeah, that you’re a sociopath!

SMOKESCREEN: Either that or a psychopath.

SMOKESCREEN: I get those two terms confused all the time.

* * *

RATCHET: That’s wrong!

Ammo used: Monobear File #5

* * *

 

“Smokescreen, look at the cause of death,” Ratchet implored him.

“Cause of death. If I recalled, it was… exsanguination,” Smokescreen realized. “Intense energon loss.”

“Didn’t we have that exact same cause of death earlier?” Ratchet asked everyone.

“When Shockwave was murdered!” Bumblebee yelled. “The acid was the weapon back then too.”

“You know, there was something else that I found odd about it from the very beginning,” Smokescreen admitted. “It listed the explosion in the additional notes. I found that odd, since it should’ve been listed as the cause of death, but I thought Monobear was just being technical. If you’re right, the explosion was listed because it didn’t kill him. You all know what that means,” he finished.

“That wasn’t the only thing,” Ratchet told them. “You see, the explosion was added, but something was taken out. Something that should’ve been mentioned from the very beginning. That item is very easy to figure out considering the previous notes.”

* * *

What was missing from the additional notes?

Additional injuries

**Drugs**

High-grade

* * *

 

“The thing that was missing was the mention of any drugs in his system, since I added anesthesia to him. Why wouldn’t that be mentioned, unless it was the cause of death?” Ratchet asked the court.

“That… has to be the reason,” Smokescreen admitted before glancing at Dead End. “You’re a tricky bastard.”

“Indeed, he is. He had a death wish, and he had a clever way of pulling it off,” Ratchet agreed.

“There’s… still a loose end,” Dead End muttered.

“A loose end?” Ratchet repeated. “What do you mean?”

“There was still one syringe in the dispenser. That could’ve been the one where the acid was, right?” Dead End questioned him.

“No way. The acid would’ve evaporated that stuff by the time the investigation took place. I know my own acid!” Mixmaster rebuked.

“Do you have any proof of that? I could’ve modified it. Plenty of books on it,” Dead End told him.

“No way!” Ratchet yelled. “The first syringe in there killed him and I can prove it!”

“Prove it? You can’t!” Dead End yelled at him. “Stop ruining everything!”

* * *

_Panic Talk Battle!_

SHIELD X6

DEAD END: I’m trying to save you!

SHIELD X5

DEAD END: Just let me die!

SHIELD X4

DEAD END: There’s no hope for me!

SHIELD X3

DEAD END: Just end it all!

SHIELD X2

DEAD END: Quit perorating!

SHIELD X1

DEAD END: Nonsense pontification!

SHIELD DESTROYED!

DEAD END: **The last syringe could’ve hold the acid!**

DECIPHER BULLET!

First is last one syringe out in

Last syringe in is first one out!

RATCHET: You’re wrong!

* * *

 

“Dead End, you must know how the dispenser works, right? The last syringe to go in is the first one to be used. The first person to have anesthesia used on them was Blast Off. Since the first one is the one that contains the acid, which means Blast Off was killed with that particular syringe,” Ratchet told him.

“Guah!” Dead End grunted.

“But, if that’s the truth, I don’t want to believe it,” Bumblebee muttered. “If that’s true, then we have to execute you, Ratchet. After all that you’ve done for us, having to be executed for something that wasn’t your fault.”

“I know,” Ratchet acknowledge. “Just let me explain it one last time, from beginning to end. After that, we all have no choice but to vote me up as the killer.

* * *

_Climax Logic!_

Chapter 1

Blast Off's murder was a tale of two tales. That of a bomber, **Smokescreen** , and that of a suicidal individual, **Dead End**. The two of them happened to have had a faithful encounter that change the course of events in the VOF at night. Smokescreen, dressed in a cloak and mask, had abducted Swindle and was using him to mess with the timing of events, by switching the VOF to daytime to make Swindle believe the bomb was planted at the daytime.

Chapter 2

Unfortunately, as he was pulling his scheme off, he had an unwanted visitor. Dead End had stumble onto the VOF with Nautilator, both of them high off drugs. They weren’t going to remember tomorrow, but that wouldn’t stop them from interfering with the plan when Nautilator knocked the bomber’s glass container of nitroglycerine onto the racetrack, shattering it and spilling it on the ground.

Chapter 3

With his plan stymied, Smokescreen used a grate from the race track and bludgeoned Dead End and Nautilator across the back of the head. After that, he carried them away from the racetrack to keep people away from there and deposited them in the forest. After that, he placed the grate in the repair bay and hidden it with a cloth. After that, he grabbed a large white line and dragged it back to the grates to hide the missing one. He was finished for the night when he carried Swindle backed to the archives and hid him there.

Chapter 4

That following day, me, as well as Skywarp and Bumblebee, stumbled onto Dead End and Nautilator and brought them back to the medical bay to take care of them. Dead End was awake although unresponsive, paying attention to everyone’s action, including mine. This would come in use later for him.

Chapter 5

The bomber wasn’t done though. Smokescreen’s plan may’ve been temporary put on hold, but that wouldn’t stop him. He already had another plan to procure another vial of nitroglycerine. There was a race going on between Knock Out and Blurr that day, so he set up a gambling ring that day to let people decide whether Blurr or Knock Out was going to win. The amount of funds he got from it was more than enough to get some nitroglycerin as well as a bonus purchase of ‘rust’ paint, a special paint that would make metal look rusted.

Chapter 6

That night, Smokescreen assisted Onslaught and Blast Off in searching for Swindle, telling them to search the first building while he take the other buildings, which was perfect for him, allowing him to freely traverse the area without detection. He quickly got Swindle backed from the archives and took him back to the VOF and placed him in the crate. After that, he planted the bomb and painted the stands with the fake rust, to convince Hoist to send people to the other stand near where the bomb was so that more people could be caught in the explosion.

Chapter 7

That following day, everyone was out at the racetrack, with three noticeable exceptions: The two injured people at the med-bay and Bludgeon at the mall’s sleeping quarters. At that time, Dead End got to work, getting up and heading to his room to recover two objects: a kitchen knife and a container of acid. He returned to the medical bay, Bludgeon seeing him as he passed by, waking up from his sleep, and the suicidal individual began his plan.

Chapter 8

He quickly created an anesthesia, injected acid inside it, and placed the syringe in the dispenser, it being the first one in position, followed by washing the container in the sink to make sure no one could identify what was once in it. After that, he entered an operation room and quickly fashioned a tourniquet to wrap around his arm. His plan required him to live through the next part, which was sawing off his arm. He did so, causing a lot of energon loss, which was all a part of his plan as he collapse and briefly went unconscious and was found a little later by Wildrider and Bludgeon.

Chapter 9

At around the same time, Swindle broke out of his box, causing Blast Off to come across the white line, inadvertently triggering the bomb. With him and many people injured, I acted first and organize people to help everyone that was injured out, starting with Blast Off, who was the most injured. He was quickly transported over there onto a medical slab, screaming and struggling against his fatal wounds. I quickly grabbed a syringe of anesthesia and injected it into him, hoping to calm him down, only for him to die immediately after injecting it in him. We all assumed that the bomb was what killed him, but in actuality, the acid in the anesthesia is what killed him.

Because of that, the culprit, the one who unintentionally became the killer in this case, a victim of the two other individual’s plan, is me, **Ratchet**.

* * *

 

The court went silent at the conclusion. This wasn’t how the case was supposed to end. It was supposed to end with Smokescreen executed. Instead, because of Dead End’s death wish, Ratchet was the one who had to be executed to save everyone.

“Why…,” Dead End gasped. “Why did you have to figure that out? Why couldn’t you just give up and let me die?”

“Because, everyone else’s life was on the line,” Ratchet told him. “I can’t let them die just so you can end your misery.” Dead End went quiet at that as he looked away. He knew he lost. He wouldn’t die today.

That honor was reserved for Ratchet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dead End pulled a Nagito.


	77. Chapter 5: Execution

“So… you really expect us to vote you up?” Knock Out questioned him with his arms crossed and his head down. He wasn’t quite ready to accept the result.

“I don’t want you to, but we have no choice. In order to ensure the survival of everyone else, we have to execute me,” Ratchet told him.

“I honestly can’t believe it, but you’ve given me more days, Ratchet. Thank you,” Smokescreen told him sincerly.

“Don’t get too comfortable, you scumbag,” Onslaught warned him. “We all know your real self now.”

“Yeah… that’s true,” the serial killer shrugged. “But I’m still alive, right?”

“We won’t stop watching you,” Hoist told him.

“Hey, I’m not the only one you need to watch. Dead End is the reason I didn’t kill Blast Off and Ratchet is having to be served up in my steed,” he pointed out.

“That is true,” Ratchet agreed, “but that’s probably because his mind has been fractured, both by the drugs in his system and because of you bashing his head in. Who knows what that blow to the head did to him.”

“You’re trying to justify my actions?” Dead End questioned, glaring at him. “Why?”

“I don’t believe you would just do this because of your nihilism. I think you just needed something to push you over the line, that being the drugs and Smokescreen’s actions,” Ratchet told him.

“Am I really the blame for everything?” Smokescreen interrupted.

“Yes, you are, now shut up. I’m fine with literally everyone except you outlasting me right now,” Ratchet ordered him and Smokescreen got the message, turning away and keeping his mouth shut. “Now, I believe it’s time to get this vote started. Once that’s done, no doubt will remain.”

“But, Ratchet… you’ve helped us out so much. I don’t wanna vote you out,” Beachcomber muttered, his voice hitched up.

“Neither do I, but we got to,” Rewind told him. “We have to live through this.”

“But for how long?” Dead End asked him, startling the archivist. “Someone pulling off a successful murder is inevitable. At least this way, the person leaving the room won’t feel guilt.”

“Guilt?” Ratchet questioned him. “I would feel guilty if you all die except for me.”

“Maybe so, but at least you be more rational than anyone else,” the cynic responded.

“Rational?” Hoist muttered. “Wait, so you weren’t just blindly killing yourself? “

“Of course I wasn’t. I always intended for Ratchet to escape off killing me. He made the most sense. He was rational, realistic, and had empathy. He was the one deserved to live the most compared to everyone else here,” Dead End told them.

“You think you can categorize everyone here based on their rationality?” Bludgeon growled. “What gives you the right to dictates who lives and who dies?”

“It’s a strange contradiction of thought,” Dead End admitted. “I’m arrogant enough to decide who I want to live, but critical enough of myself to decide that the person that should live shouldn’t be me.”

“Does it matter?” Skywarp questioned. “All he accomplished is forcing us to have to vote up Ratchet for a death he never intended.”

“This is all your choice. You can vote for Ratchet or you can see it my way and not vote for him,” the cynic told them.

“Which is why I insist you vote for me,” Ratchet told everyone. “I’ve accepted what needs to be done to ensure everyone’s survival. Just get it over with.”

“If you insist!” Monobear spoke up. “Let’s get the vote underway. I’m sure all of you have decided on who is the culprit, so get your electroID out and decide who is the blackened.”

Ratchet knew what he had to do. He brought his electroID out and went to ‘Voting.’ The thirty pictures came up with Blast Off now having a blue X over his face and he clicked the picture of himself, making that full-screen. It asked him yes or no and he hesitated. He knew this was what he had to do, but he thought he had more to do. He thought he would actually get to live in a normal society and have a normal life. He just wanted peace. Now, he was forced to give his life away to save twenty people. All because he was a good Samaritan that wanted to prevent Blast Off from dying from his wounds. Those good intentions led to him killing Blast Off. How painfully ironic.

He pressed yes and put it up. He could see that several others were struggling to do as well. One-by-one, they gave their answer and put their electroID up, the last one being Knock Out, who was shifting his glare between Dead End and Smokescreen as he did so. It was obvious who he blamed more for Blast Off’s death than Ratchet. He gave his vote and put it up.

“Alright, the votes are in and the results are ready. Did you voted correctly or are you despairingly wrong? Let’s find out!” he yelled and the slot machine spin up, cycling through all the pictures of everyone before landing on three pictures of Ratchet. The court waited for a few seconds before confetti and coins erupted from the slot machine. “Yee-haw! You got it right. Ratchet, the Ultimate Medic, killed Blast Off, the Ultimate Sniper, with Dead End, the Ultimate Poet, being an accomplice.”

“So, we were right,” Bumblebee muttered in dread.

“Yes, you were, although it wasn’t unanimous. Dead End landed his vote onto himself, while Hoist, Onslaught, and Swindle placed their votes on Smokescreen,” Monobear informed everyone.

“Wow, you guys really wanted me dead,” Smokescreen remarked.

“This is all your fault!” Swindle yelled at him, getting in his face. “Blast Off is dead because of you!”

“So? You heard Ratchet, he was the one who killed him in the end, so placing your votes on me just increased the likelihood of you getting executed with me,” he told him coldly. “Stop being so emotional.”

*Clang*

“Guah!” Smokescreen grunted as he got on his knees from Swindle punching him in the gut.

“Stay down and shut up!” Swindle ordered him. “When we’re out of here, we’ll stick you with the rest of the psychos, as that’s obviously where you belong.”

“I’ll see if I can get a conviction for him,” Jazz agreed. “Now, we have to get to the hard part.”

“My execution,” Ratchet muttered gravely. “It’s been decided.”

“Why… why did it have to turn out like this?” Rewind questioned out loud.

“Because we have to do whatever we can to ensure the group’s survival. Don’t forget that,” he told him. “I will die today, but I don’t want it to be in vain.”

“It won’t be, Ratchet,” Knock Out assured him. “You will be avenged. The mastermind will die.” 

“Oh, so confident,” Monobear mocked. “The only way out is by getting away with murder, so stop looking for another way out.”

“You won’t win,” Ratchet told him. “I may die, but I know you’ll be joining me soon enough.”

“Why? I thought you would want good company?” Monobear questioned him, purposely missing the point.

“Ignore him,” Mixmaster muttered. “I’m sorry Ratchet. I had no idea that the acid would be used again like this. I know that this was partially my fault.”

“Don’t be like that,” Ratchet told him. “If not like this, than he would’ve found another way. He seemed determine to die.”

“Maybe, but my way was quick and efficient. It would’ve been easier to stop him if he didn’t have access to my acid,” the chemist responded back.

“Maybe so. We’ll never know, but I forgive you,” Ratchet acknowledged. “Now, I believe it’s time.”

“If you insist,” Monobear agreed. “Everyone, let’s give a cheer for Ratchet’s punishment and it’s a very special one for the Ultimate Medic,” he announced as the red button came out of the ground and he got ready to push it. As he did so, Ratchet addressed everyone one more time to give his final words.

“Everyone, listen, even you Smokescreen,” he said, earning everyone’s attention. “Remember, the enemy here isn’t any of us, it’s Monobear. You have to stop this game before any more people die.” Monobear was pulling back to hit it. “And please, tell Drift I’m sorry we won’t get to talk again.” Monobear brought the gavel down and Ratchet was taken away before anyone could respond.

* * *

_GAME OVER_

_RATCHET HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY_

_COMMENCING EXECUTION_

* * *

 

_Ratchet looked around in apprehension. He appeared to have been dropped off in a middle of a warzone where robots of red and purple colors were feuding with each other. He was currently behind the red robots line, indicating he was on their side._

_Ratchet knew he had to get out. The red robots were stuck in a rundown building while the purple ones were attacking from outside. There wasn’t much here that he can use for cover. He had to retreat deeper into the building to avoid fire._

_*Boom*_

_Ratchet was tossed to the floor, his armor scorched and shrapnel embedded in his chest. An explosion had just been set off, probably a grenade of some sort. As he tried to get up, a red robot came to him and wrapped his arm around its shoulder to get him out of the room._

_It led Ratchet through the hall, taking him to another room where another red robot was, this one with a white star of life on his shoulders, indicating its status as a medic, and a medical slab in the middle of the room. On the left side of its chest, he could see the name ‘Armstrong,' indicating the robot’s name._

_Ratchet was brought to the slab and placed on it, with the soldier keeping close to him. The medic approached him, moving very sluggish as it dragged the tray over to Ratchet and brought the scalpel out with shaky hands._

_As it stood above him, Ratchet could smell high-grade coming from it stinging his olfactory senses and bringing back unpleasant memories. He knew what Monobear had planned for him._

* * *

_MEDICAL MALPRACTICE_

* * *

 

_Armstrong brought the scalpel down on Ratchet, sending it deep into his armor, sending it deep into where the biggest shrapnel was and cut it opened sloppily, cutting into several wires and tubes. Ratchet gave a harsh screamed as a small amount of energon leaked out and tried to get out, only for the soldier to keep him down._

_The medic grabbed the piece of shrapnel with its bare hands and pulled it out, not even bothering to be careful as another squirt of energon came out and hit the medic’s face. It wiped its face before getting a welder and soldering wound shut sloppily, ensuring that the auto-healers will have to take a longer amount of time and cause pain to Ratchet, who was squirming as much as he can with the soldier keeping him down._

_After that, Armstrong brought the scalpel back down to the center of his chest, right where his spark was. It stick the scalpel in deep and brought it down Ratchet’s body, making him howl. When it was done, it grabbed a retractor and placed it in the opening to separate the two edges of the wound._

_This exposed Ratchet’s spark, which had a large cut in it from the scalpel and pieces of shrapnel in it. Armstrong scratched its head in drunken confusion, which earned a fist from the soldier, a sign to fix the problem. The medic nodded and quickly got some forceps to pull the shrapnel out._

_Ratchet optics brighten in fear again and tried to escape again, only for the soldier to keep him down. He knew the order was wrong. He needed to fix the open wound in the spark first before going after the shrapnel. Frag, it should’ve used anesthesia first before even engaging in the surgery. Then again, Ratchet forgot to use anesthesia as well when his patient died._

_The medic brought the forceps to a large piece of shrapnel at the spark and pulled it out roughly, spreading the open wound a bit more and causing Ratchet’s spark to bleed out at a furious rate and making the Autobot give a savage yell. His optics were fading and the Armstrong continued, removing the other piece of shrapnel._

_Armstrong grabbed the welder again as Ratchet’s screams died down. As he brought it to Ratchet’s spark, he saw that it wasn’t glowing anymore and the soldier had let go and was crossing its arms at the medic, shaking its head at it. Ratchet was still with his face stuck in a look of agony and all his lights off._

_Armstrong scratched the back of its head guiltily before grabbing a large piece of cloth and placing it over the corpse to hide it. If one can’t see the body, they can’t blame Armstrong. The two of them looked at each before a large explosion shook the building and quickly left the area before anything can happen, leaving Ratchet’s corpse behind._

* * *

 

Everyone was quiet as the screen went off, leaving Ratchet’s covered corpse the last image they saw. Ratchet had been an icon amongst the Autobots and now he was dead. The only one who knew just how ironic his death was, was Jazz, knowing about his secret. Seeing the recreation of the event that Ratchet described was horrifying. Monobear had a certain knack for the ironic alright.

“Whelp… everyone ready to leave?” Smokescreen asked everyone dispassionately, earning a glare from everyone there. He shrugged his shoulders and headed over to the elevator. “I’ll wait on you guys.” The group was quiet as Smokescreen entered the elevator before Bludgeon spoke up.

“There is nothing we can do now. We’ve obtained our pyrrhic victory. It’s time to head back up,” the metallikato expert told everyone.

“He’s right, unfortunately,” Perceptor acknowledged. “There is no reason to stay down here and linger on this any longer.”

“Yeah… he’s right. Let’s go,” Jazz told them as one-by-one, they all walked off to the elevator. Soon enough, the only two left behind were Skywarp and Knock Out. The former had his arms crossed, his face turned into a slight frown, while the latter had one hand on his hips and the other holding on to his bandaged head, his mouth turned into a massive scowl.

“Are you okay?” Skywarp asked. “I know you really wanted Smokescreen dead.”

“No… I’m not,” Knock Out replied earnestly. “I lost too much today. My frame being disfigured. Smokescreen living. Losing Ratchet, my perfect counterpart. Me and Ratchet worked because we were so different and now….” Knock Out went silent at that before he walked on over to the elevator. Skywarp gave a small sigh before he headed on over to the elevator and entered it, everyone being in there now. Blurr pressed the button and the elevator closed and moved up.

**Chapter 5: Leave Hope on the Operating Table (END)**

**Teachers alive: 20**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'll be making a transition chapter between this and chapter 6. I just figured that since it was still afternoon, I'll just create a long chapter for after the trial. 
> 
> Also, kudos to anyone who caught the 'And Then There Were None' reference.


	78. Chapter 5.5: Property Claim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My semester finished today. WHOO! I'm free for the summer!
> 
> With this, I should be able to upload more chapters sooner than later as long as I'm not caught up n my free time. Glad to get stress off me. I'm hoping for a productive summer. Get a lot of chapters done, hope someone likes my story enough to create a TV Trope page, and ignore my stories to play video games. Yep, I got my goals sorted out.

They were all quiet as the elevator moved slowly until it reached the top and opened up to reveal a figure.

“Hey,” Drift said, sitting against the wall, holding a hand against his head. “How it go?” he asked.

“Drift, what are you doing?” Jazz asked, walking over to him and checking him over.

“I’m fine. It may suck to walk, but I can still do it,” he assured them as he looked the group over and frown. “Where’s Ratchet?” Almost everyone went quiet at that and didn’t want to mention it. Almost everyone.

“He was executed,” Smokescreen told him, causing Drift optics to brighten. “Tough luck.”

“What?” Drift questioned in disbelief. “But… he wouldn’t murder anyone!” he yelled.

“Drift… it’s a lot more complicated than you think. I’ll explain it to you later,” Jazz told him as he helped him get off the ground. “In private.”

“Excuse me,” they heard an annoying squeaky voice said and turned to see Monobear standing a bit away from them. “This is just a reminder. With the murder solve, all twenty-two personal items are available. I’ve already moved them to the auditorium. Pick them up at your leisure,” he told them before walking off again.

“Alright,” Smokescreen muttered before heading to the auditorium.

“My sword…,” Bludgeon muttered before sprinting over to the auditorium, surprising Smokescreen who was passed by the brute before continuing to walk along.

“I’ll head on over and make sure everyone gets what’s theirs,” Bumblebee told everyone before sprinting off.

“Jazz,” Drift spoke up again, “why did Ratchet do it? Why he plant the bomb?”

“Drift, Ratchet didn’t plant the bomb. That was Smokescreen,” Jazz told him.

“Smokescreen?” the swordsman repeated. “But, he’s still walking. He’s still alive.”

“Look, let me get you to the Med-bay and I’ll explain everything,” the spy comforted him as he led him away, leaving the rest behind.

“So… I’m heading to the auditorium,” Perceptor told them. “I recommend we all go there together.” Everyone voiced their agreement curtly and the group walked on over quietly, some of them glancing at Dead End suspiciously as they went along. He stayed at the back with his head down, not bothering to look at anybody. The group arrived at the auditorium and entered it to see Bludgeon admiring his sword, running his hand against the flat part of it, Smokescreen playing with a butterfly knife, and Bumblebee staring at a picture in his hand.

“It’s perfect,” Bludgeon murmured, his being the one with the old language on it. He admired it for a few more seconds before he proceeded to do a few practice swings as everyone came up on the stage to see the objects on separate stands that have a name on each one. They proceeded to grab their objects and took some time to look at it. Skywarp took his necklace and placed it on himself, the amethyst jewel shining brightly.

“Hmm, maybe a bit tacky, but I’ll wear it,” Skywarp muttered as he saw Knock Out grabbed something. He went on over and took a look at it.

“Is that an eyepatch?” Skywarp questioned, looking at it. Inded, it did appeared to be an eyepatch in a red-color.

“Breakdown made it. He lost his optic a while back from certain predator and needed something to replace it. I offered to make him a new optic, but he refused, saying he liked the eyepatch. He made this so that we could match. I naturally refused, because wearing it would be asymmetrical, but, now, I have no choice,” Knock Out told him. “Ratchet was the only person around that I trust to install a new optic, but he’s gone. An eyepatch is more fashionable than bandages.”

“Yeah, he is gone,” the warper agreed as he looked at the stand that belonged to Ratchet. There was the scalpel, never to be taken by its owner, but that didn’t mean it was going to stay there forever. Skywarp grabbed it and turned to Knock Out. “Hey,” he said and Knock Out turned to him. Skywarp outstretched his hand and offered it to him. “Here. You two knew each other more then me and him knew each other. I figured you would want this,” he told him.

“The plague scalpel,” Knock Out muttered, looking away. So Ratchet had told him about his survival of the plague. “I… don’t feel comfortable taking something that belongs to him.”

“Well, just consider it as passing it down the generations,” Skywarp told him. “First it belonged to Downshift, then it belonged to Ratchet, and now it belongs to you.” Knock Out continued to look away, thinking it through, before he gently took it away from him.

“Fine. I’ll accept it. Someone has to hold on to it,” Knock Out agreed, holding it on the handle. “For Ratchet.”

Away from them, Swindle grabbed a datapad with the title ‘How to Convince People to Like You.’ He always had some problems with making friends, so this datapad was the first stepping-stone he needed to be his charismatic self. After that came the sales datapad and so much money being made. “So, this was the motive,” he muttered.

“Yes, it was,” Onslaught confirmed next to him, holding a datapad that dealt with strategies and tactics. It was a custom-made one, Onslaught taking his time to find and write down every strategy and tactic he could find and placed them in his book with examples in for each one. It took him many years to compose, but he did and he was proud to have all the information at hand.

“What was Blast Off’s?” Swindle questioned him.

“Blast Off’s was… hmm?” he wondered as he grabbed a datapad. “’How to get along and be empathetic to people you hate.’ Huh?”

“Wait, really?” Swindle wondered as he grabbed the datapad and looked. “Wow… he was serious about working together with us.”

“Indeed he was,” Onslaught agreed as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s head to your room. I rather not be away from you.”

“Yeah, let’s head out.”

They headed out, passing by the Stunticons, with Wildrider engaging in damage control. “Hey, Deady, do you need to hug Sparky?” he questioned, holding out a plushie. This would be cute in most cases, but the plushie was of a sparkeater. It had its disgusting mouth open wide and was using the form of a turbofox. Yeah, being a plushy did make it kind of cute, but it was still creepy.

“No, now go away,” Dead End ordered as he looked at his datapad with his only arm. It was a collection of private poems given to him by another poet that he admired. She was dying, so she gave it to him and he accepted it, not allowing it to be released to the public. It was a private gift and nothing more. No one was allowed to see it.

“Dead End,” Wildrider said, adopting a serious tone, “don’t push me away this time. You almost got us killed. Now, hug Sparky!” he told him, offering the plushie again. Dead End stared into the felt mouth of the creature, ready to eat sparks, with its body decayed. It wouldn’t surprise Dead End if this was responsible for some of Wildrider’s craziness. This was made to induce cute nightmares.

“Wildrider, I’m-”

“Hug him!”

“Um…,” Dead End hesistated, not wanting to do anything with something that disgusting looking, but judging from the look Wildrider was giving him, he didn’t have a choice. “Okay,” he agreed, hooking the datapad to the side and grabbing the plushie. He looked at it, with its disgusting, unhinged jaw, back up to Wildrider giving him the most encouraging look possible, before bringing the plushie to him and hugged it closed to him.

“There, how do you feel?” Wildrider questioned him.

“Elated,” Dead End deadpanned. “Now, will you help me to your room.”

Away from them, Hoist was examining his personal item, a toolbox full of rusty, old tools, in a seat on the front row. They were his first set and he was forever grateful for it, but as time went on, better versions of the tools came out and he adapted to them. He had to make sure he had the best tools, so he had to discard these when their uses ran out. Still, he kept his first set, because it was a gift from his mentor. He couldn’t exactly just toss it to the side.

“Those are really old,” he heard someone said and looked up to see Smokescreen standing above him, still playing with his butterfly knife.

“What do you want, bastard?” Hoist questioned him, being extremely uncomfortable around him now.

“Oh, nothing much. Just hanging out with a friend,” he told him.

“’Friend?’ What makes you think I’m your friend anymore?” he questioned him.

“I don’t. You voted me up to be executed. Obviously, you felt very strongly about my betrayal, which I understand. You’re not a Swindle. You’re just an average bot with average hopes and dreams. You’re a very normal person,” he answered his question.

“So why do you still call me a friend?” Hoist questioned suspiciously.

“Because we were friends before the whole bomb thing. Sorry about that,” he told him in a blasé matter.

“’Sorry?’ You manipulated me to injured as many people as possible!  How can you think I’ll just forgive you just because you said sorry?” Hoist interrogated him, incensed.

“I’m not asking for forgiveness. It’s foolish to do so,” he answered honestly. “I still consider you a friend though. I mean, I already put this much effort in. Might as well not let it go to waste.”

“Your reasoning is screwed up, you know that?” Hoist questioned him as he looked at the knife he kept flinging about. “Why is that knife your personal item?”

“Oh, this?” Smokescreen questioned, showing it off. “No reason, really. Killed some people with it. Keeps me entertain,” he told him as he continued flinging it about and Hoist realized just how much Smokescreen didn’t care about anyone. He didn’t care about the knife in a sentimental matter, like Bludgeon and Drift did for their swords. It just because it’s a weapon and it entertains him, however briefly.

“You disturb me, Smokescreen. Stay away,” Hoist ordered.

“Alright, I understand,” Smokescreen agreed, walking off. “Talk to you later, okay?”

“That’s unlikely,” Hoist muttered.

Away from them, sitting on the edge of the stage, was Bumblebee, looking at a photo of him along with Drift, Hound, Optimus Prime, and Crosshairs posing together at what looked like a forest. They had completed their campaign together on Devola to take out a Decepticon fuel depot. It was dangerous, but they accomplished it, and Bumblebee was the big hero that day. It was quite possibly his proudest moment.

“Interesting photo,” he heard someone said and looked behind him to see Perceptor bent over and looking at the photo. “Where you take this at?”

“Devola. Ring-a-bell?” he told him.

“Ah, yes, I remember that,” Perceptor nodded. “Quite impressive.”

“Hmm-mmm. It was awesome,” Bumblebee agreed as he looked at what was in Perceptor’s hand, which was a datapad. “What’s your datapad contained?”

“Many things. I use it to contain all my field notes in my experiment, scientific theories, some private entry. It’s meant for me and me only,” Perceptor told him.

“How many years’ worth of knowledge is in that?” he questioned.

“Millions,” Perceptor told him. “If this was destroyed, so much knowledge would be lost. While I’m sad that Ratchet and Blast Off are both dead, this is invaluable. I honestly couldn’t take it if it was all destroyed.”

“Wow… that’s a lot of information,” Bumblebee muttered.

“Indeed it is, but it’s safe again and hopefully it’ll stay that way,” Perceptor said as he rose back up. “I’ll go store this somewhere safe. See you later Bumblebee.”

“Later.”

Away from those two, Mixmaster was staring at Scavenger’s personal item. “This is a nice toy," Mixmaster said as he examined the minature excavator. It was in Scavenger's colors and all of the parts looked custom-made and would last a long time. 

"Yeah. Hook and Long Haul built it for me. Well, it was mostly Long Haul's idea, but Hook had the technical know-how to build it," Scavenger told him.

"Impressive. I'm surprised Hook actually took the time of day to help build this," the chemist said as he looked over every inch of it.

"Well, he did it because he liked me, right?" Scavenger said and Mixmaster was withholding himself from saying it was because Long Haul blackmailed Hook into building it.

"Of course," Mixmaster nodded, hoping it was convincing enough. "Hook cares about you, deep down inside of him somewhere." He was unsure of that. Hook was an aft who used Scavenger as his own little guinea pig and regular berated the poor assistant. On the other hand, Hook did offer genuine praise every now and then and even though he was blackmailed, he seemed to like building the miniature excavator for Scavenger and took great pains to make sure it was perfect, although that may have just been the perfectionist in him. The two obviously had a complicated relationship.

"Yeah. He can be really nice when he wants to be," Scavenger said dreamily.

"And here's the proof. It really is an excellent toy," he admitted.

“Yeah, it is,” Scavenger agreed as he looked over at Mixmaster’s item. It appeared to be a chunk of a green mineral held within a glass container. “What is that?”

“Element 113,” Mixmaster told him.

“Element 113? Wait, isn’t that, like, super-rare?” Scavenger questioned.

“Yes, it is. Extremely rare and extremely dangerous. Best not to take it out of the container,” Mixmaster advised him.

“Right,” Scavenger nodded. “Don’t let anyone near it.”

“Yes, correct,” Mixmaster nodded.

“Sooooo… wanna hang out?” Scavenger asked him.

“Sure, just let me store this somewhere safe and we’ll go wherever you want,” Mixmaster agreed. Considering how things were, he had to make sure Scavenger was safe.

* * *

 

“That’s insane!” Drift yelled at Jazz back at the Med-Bay after he explained what happened at the trial and how Smokescreen and Dead End were responsible for the events of the murder with Ratchet as the unfortunate scapegoat. “How could Monobear consider Ratchet a murderer in that scenario? It was all Dead End’s fault.”

“I don’t agree with the outcome either, but according to the rules of this place, Ratchet is the murderer in this case,” Jazz told him. “We had no choice but to vote him up in order to save everyone else.”

“You actually voted him up?” he asked, his voice breaking.

“Yes, we did. Ratchet was the one to figure it out, he was the one to save us, and he voted himself up,” Jazz answered his question. “We only did it because he told us to.”

“He told you to?” Drift questioned. “He was actually… willing to die for us?”

“Yes, he did,” he nodded. “And, before he was executed, he wanted me to give you the message that he was sorry you two wouldn’t be able to talk again.” Drift didn’t say anything at that, instead looking away with a hand to his face. Jazz knew that Drift needed to grieve so he said, “I’ll leave you alone,” and walked away from him to leave him alone. He heard the door to the Med-Bay open and turned to see Rewind walking on in with a datapad in one hand and a glass container in the other holding a white flower with petals that kind of freaked him out.

“Oh, hey, Jazz. Can you get this container? The flower isn’t heavy at all, but the container is ridiculously heavy,” Rewind told him.

“Oh, sure,” Jazz said as he went over and took it from his grip to find that it was pretty heavy and Jazz struggled with it. “This isn’t a normal container,” he realized.

“Yeah, I think it’s custom-made to resemble the environment that the plant belongs too,” Rewind told him. “You might want to ask Hound about it when he wakes back up.”

“Yeah… is this his personal item?” Jazz questioned.

“Yeah. It’s a rare flower from Earth. Best make sure it doesn’t die,” he told him as they brought it over to Hound and placed it on a stand near him. Rewind stood over Hound, looking him over, who was sleeping uneasily, making small, raspy exhaling noises. It’s obvious that it’ll take time for him to heal before he’ll be completely fine. “Smokescreen’s bomb almost killed him and he still hasn’t woke up,” Rewind muttered, sounding hurt.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Jazz said, wrapping an arm around him. “He’ll be fine. I’ll get Knock Out to check on him later if he’s feeling up to it.”

“Thanks,” Rewind nodded. “I’ve already lost Chromedome and I don’t want to lose Hound as well.”

“We won’t lose him and we won’t lose anyone else. I assure you,” Jazz told him. “Ratchet was a loss too much. We can’t afford to lose anyone else.”

“No one else,” Rewind agreed and the two were quiet as the door opened up again and they heard really loud footsteps. The two turned to see Bludgeon walking in, his sword in his hilt by his left side with a datapad in his left hand and three swords bundled up together in his right arm.

“Evening,” he greeted them as he walked over to Nautilator and placed the datapad by his side. “For when he wakes up. I’m sure he wants it.” With that, he walked away. “Inform me when he wakes up. I reckon it’ll be soon.” He walked on out and stop when he noticed Drift still being quiet. “Your swords,” he told him as he laid them against the slab. Drift looked like he didn’t noticed him. “When you’re feeling better, let us train together. You need to keep your strength up.” Drift continued being silent and Bludgeon understood. “Go ahead and grieve. I know your pain. It took me several weeks before I could get through Jhiaxus death. I wish you well, fellow warrior.” With that, he left the room.

“He’s weird.” Rewind muttered.

“And dangerous with his sword back in his possession,” Jazz murmured. “Don’t trust him completely.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Rewind agreed.

“Hey, could you come over to my room later?” Jazz questioned him.

“Sure, no problem. See you then.”  

* * *

 

“Thanks for pouring one out,” Beachcomber thanked Blurr as he poured him a glass of high-grade at 7 at the fourth-floor lounge.

“No problem,” Blurr told him. “Came from Mixmaster and his is the pure stuff.”

“Good. I want to forget where I am in record time,” the geologist said as he brought it close to him next to an ornate box.

“Don’t blame you,” Blurr nodded as he looked behind him. There, on a shelf, was a platinum trophy that had a generic car as its centerpiece. The grand prize for winning the Ibex Cup was a gold cup for the specific year you won it and the Platinum Cup that the winner gets to keep for the year until the next tournament. Blurr was the last winner of the Ibex Cup before the war kicked into gear. Now, he was basically the formal owner of it.

“I swear, I thought my body would give out on me before Ratchet kicked it. He was old, but he had so many more years left before his gave in,” Beachcomber muttered as he took the lid off the box and looked inside it. Inside was several different uncut stones including diamonds, rubies, garnets, and many different stones.

“Wow, nice stones,” Blurr complimented.

“Thanks. An archeologist friend often invited me to his excavation from before the war,” he told him before taking a shot. “We spent a lot of time looking through them. After examination of the area, he lets me keep them.”

“You know, if you get them to a jewelry, he could cut them to perfection and they could sell these at an excellent price,” Blurr told him.

“You think I care?” Beachcomber asked him. “I prefer them in their natural form. Don’t understand why everyone loves them in their cut-up form.”

 “The rich loves things that are aesthetically pleasing and the non-rich want to be rich or look like they're rich at least,” the racer answered his question.

“Should’ve known an ex-celebrity like you would have an answer for that,” Beachcomber muttered.

“Still a celebrity. Trust me, I still get asked for autographs,” he told him with a smile as the Combaticons entered the area, collapsing that smile. “Hey, guys. What up?” he questioned as the two took a seat at the bar.

“Just some flavored-energon for both of us,” Onslaught told him. “Preferably with some detoxify bromine.”

“Alright,” Blurr agreed as he prepared it. “How are you two doing?”

“We’re well enough,” Onslaught told him. Blurr nodded as he finished the drink off and set it in front of them. Onslaught took his and swallowed half of it quickly while Swindle grabbed it timidly and just sipped a small amount.

“Are you okay?” Blurr questioned Swindle as he stood over him.

“I’m fine,” he answered softly and Blurr didn’t buy it. Getting your head bash in, drugged, watching your gestaltmate get blown up in front of him, and being manipulated by Smokescreen must be making Swindle miserable. If he has PTSD, Blurr wouldn’t be surprised in the least.

“You know… I’ve been a bit of a dick to you,” Blurr told him and that was putting it nicely, “but if you need support, I’m right here. After all you’ve been through, you need it.”

“Yeah, dude,” Beachcomber agreed. “Take it from experience, isolating yourself won’t help you.”

“Yeah, see, the constant drug abuser agrees with me,” Blurr told him, which earned a dirty look from the geologist. In response, Swindle took another sip of his energon before he responded.

“Are you… offering to help me?” he questioned him uncertainly. “What’s the twist?”

“No twist, I just want to,” Blurr told him and Swindle looked surprised at that. He must’ve been used to people making deals. He probably didn’t believe people in altruistic people and Smokescreen’s betrayal must’ve made it even worse.

“Why?” he questioned.

“Same reason I would,” Onslaught told him. “We’re soldiers, comrades… friends.”

“Yeah, dude. Most people are willing to help you if you just ask,” Beachcomber told him.

“Yeah, right,” Swindle sarcastically muttered as he took a big gulp that empty it. “The only one I trust here is Onslaught. The rest of you could betray me at any moment.”

“Swindle, please,” Onslaught begged. “We have to work with them and you know it, especially once we’re out of here. I don’t know what’s going on outside, but I rather make sure we have everyone here by my side than what’s going on outside.”

“The outside is scary, if all the implications are true,” Beachcomber muttered.

“We’ll worry about that later when we kill the mastermind,” Blurr told him. “Best to worry about now then later.”

“Which is exactly why I can’t trust you guys,” Swindle told him. “As long as we’re still playing this game, it’s best to just keep everyone at arm’s length.”

“Swindle, if we want to find this mastermind, we have to work together,” Onslaught told him. “He feeds off our paranoia so that we won’t be able to work together.” Swindle sighed, keeping his head down, before he spoke up.

“Fine, I’ll try and be ‘friends’ with everyone,” Swindle said, sounding uncomfortable. “Just don’t expect much.”

“Fine enough,” Blurr agreed as he refilled Swindle’s drink. “You won’t regret it.”

* * *

 

“…and here’s a datapad about how to cope with depression,” Wildrider said to Dead End at the book store. Dead End was trying his best to ignore him and read his personal datapad with Sparky resting on top of his head. Wildrider gave strict orders that he was not allowed to have the plushy away from him, so he just let the infernal thing rest on top of his head where it wouldn’t block his field of vision. Wildrider was being so overbearing, it was insufferable.

“HEY!” Wildrider yelled at him and Dead End jumped, startled, before glaring at him

“What?” Dead End asked him.

“These depressive and suicidal thoughts you have? We’re going to defeat them using these cunning strategies,” he said, showing off several datapads. “We’re going to defeat this and if these datapads don’t work, then I’m going to beat the sadness out of you!”

“Great…,” Dead End muttered. Looked like he was stuck with Wildrider the therapist.

Primus help him.

* * *

 

“Hey, how you’re doing?” Jazz questioned Rewind as he opened his own door.

“Fine. Mind if I come in?” Rewind asked him.

“Sure, come on in,” Jazz invited him in as he stepped aside. Rewind stepped on in and looked to see many datapads on the dining table. Obviously, Jazz has been busy.

“Please, mind the datapads. Those are filled with redacted information that I’m trying to solve,” Jazz told him as he closed the door. “We can talk in the kitchen,” he offered and Rewind agreed as they went in and took a seat together on the kitchen counter. “So, are you feeling alright, Rewind.”

“Yeah… fine enough,” he told him. “I still miss Chromedome, but Hound has been so helpful with me. Having him so injured by that bomb made me worried that the one I care about the most was going to die again.”

“Well, he’s still alive,” Jazz told him, “and he’ll stay that way.”

“Yeah, he will,” Rewind agreed.

“You just need to forget about Chromedome. Trust me, Hound is looking better by the day,” Jazz told him and Rewind looked angered by that.

“What? Why? He is- or, was- my conjunx endura. I can’t just ignore him,” he told him.

“Yeah, I know,” Jazz chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck, “but, still, you got to move on someday.”

“But, why?” Rewind asked him. “Thinking about Chromedome keeps my strength up.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” the audiophile told him, “but, you have to phase him out at some point.”

“Huh?” Rewind wondered. “Why are you saying that?”

“No reason. Just giving you some advice,” Jazz told him and Rewind didn’t buy that for a second.

“Jazz, what are you hiding?” the archivist asked him.

“Nothing,” the spy continued to assert. “Just giving you some advice with Chromedome.”

“Huh-huh, yeah, right,” Rewind muttered as he hopped off the counter and started walking away. “I’m heading out as you’re weirding me out.”

“No, wait, Rewind,” Jazz insisted, getting on his feet.

“No. I think you’ve gone a bit out of it looking at these datapads,” Rewind told him as he looked them over. “Reading all of this must make you in… sane,” he trailed off as he stared at a datapad. He picked it up and stared it, disbelief all across his face. “What… is this.”

“Rewind… please-” he tried to speak up only for Rewind to ignore him, dropping the datapad to the ground and running out of the room, leaving Jazz behind. The spy gave a sigh before walking over to the datapad and picking it backed up. It was one of the more heavily redacted files and he spent a lot of time sorting through it. It interested him, considering the picture of Chromedome and Shockwave on it. It further interested him when he got through the headline and figure out how what it said, much to his surprise.

ULTIMATE MNEMOSURGEON AND LOGICIAN ACCUSED OF INCITING MASS SUICIDE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for cliffhanger.


	79. Chapter 6: Troubled Worldview

**Chapter 6: Can’t Remember A Side To Be On: Hope Or Despair (BEGIN)**

**(Ab)normal Days**

_Day 19_

“Gah, this sucks!” Skywarp yelled as he walked through the forest in the VOF at 5 in the morning. It seemed like whenever he gets close to someone, or at least get an understanding, they end up dying. Skywatch, Counterpunch, Nightbeat, Ratchet, maybe Starscream and Thundercracker… life sucks right now. To go along with that, Smokescreen’s reveal as the serial killer was genuinely unnerving. He couldn’t actually believe the thought process going on through his cold, twisted mind. The fact that they had to sacrifice Ratchet instead of him made him incensed. Of course, the reason they had to sacrifice Ratchet was because of that mentally disturbed nihilist. The fact that those two were still alive and Ratchet was dead was a fragging crime. Add Laserbeak’s injury to all that and he had reached the absolutely lowest point of being in this damn place.

He made his way out of the forest to reach the large door to the next area. If he couldn’t sleep, then he’ll just check the next area out. Who knows what new ways of killing people he’ll find in there. He went over to the control panel and press the open button, letting the door open up to an atrium of some sort and five more doors, appearing to resemble the previous building except with the addition of one more door. The signs appeared to say ‘Laboratory,’ ‘Cleaning Room,’ ‘Music Room,’ ‘Combat Room,’ and ‘Foundry.’

“What an odd mix,” he immediately said before walking over to the combat room. He loved fighting, so it makes sense. He apparently wasn’t the only one, as he entered to find Bludgeon practicing. The room had a variety of arenas with Bludgeon on a raised platform in the middle of the room fighting against a holographic swordsmech. He blocked an overhead strike with his sword before deftly dashing to the right and swing his sword at the hologram before it can react and sliced the arm off at the elbow. The hologram stumbled as Bludgeon brought sword back and cleaved through the neck, beheading it and sending it to the ground as it disappeared. Bludgeon sheathed his weapon as he shifted his glare over to Skywarp.

“Foolish one! Why do you bother me?” he questioned him as he stepped off the arena.

“Hey, I’m just here to check the place out,” Skywarp said as he looked around. “I’m seeing a lot of arenas, but no weapons.”

“They expect us to bring our own. If you don’t have one, then you have to fight in hand-to-hand or use the virtual interface,” Bludgeon told him, giving a nod of his head towards the directions of computers all together.

“Virtual interface?” Skywarp asked he looked at it.

“You inject a cord into you and you engage in a virtual combat simulation. I’ve done one and it is quite realistic. You will feel pain, but you won’t die,” Bludgeon told him.

“Really? That’s cool. There really isn’t any place to fly except for the outdoor facility, but that isn’t really free and I don’t want to run into a wall by accident, so it’s good to finally have a place to spread my wings,” he said. “You know if flyers don’t fly for a while, they start to lose their mind. Losing the ability to use one’s wings would pretty much destroy a flyer’s life.”

“Don’t lose yours. We already have too many cracked minds in our mist,” the swordsmech told him.

“No kidding. Wildrider, Dead End, Smokescreen… they’re freaking insane,” he muttered.

“Yes, they are. The only good thing from that last trial is that we can now strike Smokescreen off the mole’s list since he was the serial killer in Scavenger’s secret,” Bludgeon said.

“Yeah, that’s true. So who does that leave?” Skywarp wondered.

“Of the ones alive, only one possible suspect remains.”

“Only one?”

“Yes. Since Smokescreen is revealed to be the serial killer and Mirage, Nightbeat, Chromedome, and the recently deceased Ratchet are all dead, that leaves Perceptor as the only living suspect,” Bludgeon told him.

“Dammit, you’re right… he’s the only one left alive that isn’t Smokescreen,” Skywarp murmured. “Do you think he’s the mole?”

“I don’t know. I don’t believe any of them could be the mole considering how they acted, but Perceptor doesn’t really have a close relationship with anyone. He’s cold and distant to almost everyone here. I would be the least surprise if he was the mole,” the metallikato expert responded. “I would keep my distance from him until we can find out if he’s on our side or Monobear’s side.”

“Yeah, probably a good idea. He’s the only suspect left, so we should be careful around him,” Skywarp agreed.

“Now then, why are you out so early?” Bludgeon questioned him, crossing his arms.

“Huh?” he gasped. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t get up this early, especially without your living alarm clock injured,” he said, referencing Laserbeak and Skywarp had to scratch the back of his head at that.

“I can’t sleep. Too many bad things have happened to me and I just think about it, so I have to get out to clear my thoughts,” he told him.

“You’ve been close to some of the deceased, am I correct?” Bludgeon questioned him.

“Yeah, and I’m worrying too much about my trine outside of this building. I’m afraid of the bad things that could’ve happened to them during the time we lost our memory,” he said.

“Hmm, yes, the outside world. One of the great mysteries here,” he muttered. “We still haven’t found any conclusive evidence in the area for what happened there.”

“Yeah, that and what happened here at the school like that mass suicide,” Skywarp muttered.

“Suicide. An honorable way to die,” Bludgeon muttered. “To convince others to go along with that? A great dishonor.”

“I don’t think I can agree with all of that… say, why are you up as well?” Skywarp questioned him.

“No reason,” he answer quickly looking away and Skywarp had a funny reason that he knew why.

“Is it about Nautilator?” he asked cheekily and Bludgeon flinched at that. “Hey, it’s alright. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“It is! I’m letting my emotions takeover. I need to remain stoic,” he said with a clenched fist.

“If your version of stoic is to be silently angry at everyone, sure, go ahead, but there’s no way of hiding your feelings here,” Skywarp told him.

“I have to. I may only get close with my master, who doesn’t exist anymore. I can’t make friends, only enemies,” he told him.

“That’s… a weird way of living life,” Skywarp muttered.

“Look at what happened to you. So many of your friends dying while I haven’t had to live through it,” he told him, irking the flyer.

“So what? People die. You get used to it. May take a while to get over their deaths, but that takes time. It’s a fact of life that one can’t deny… or are you still not over Jhiaxus’ death?” Skywarp questioned and Bludgeon gave him the angriest look he could deliver.

“He was my master. I sacrifice my life for him and then he dies instead of me? That’s not what supposed to happen. I should die protecting him. I shouldn’t even be alive!” Bludgeon growled before he turned away. Skywarp guessed he found his answer. Bludgeon was still feeling guilt over Jhiaxus’ death and couldn’t get over it. Now, with him getting close to Nautilator, he’s afraid of it happening again.

“I’m afraid to die,” Bludgeon spoke up again, surprising the jet. “It’s a weakness of mine, but it’s the reason I haven’t atone for my failure.”

“Atone for your failures… what do you mean by that?” Skywarp questioned.

“When one’s master dies, there only way to regain your honor and is through a self-inflicted death,” Bludgeon told him.

“Suicide?” Skywarp questioned.

“Yes. It’s what one does when their master dies through the failure of the protector. I failed to get him out of the ship and he was crushed into particles. Therefore, in order to regain my honor, I have to commit suicide.”

“And yet you’re still here….”

“Yes, I am, dishonored.”

“Are there other ways of atoning?” Skywarp questioned him.

“Only partially. Once every year, I pay my respects and burn an effigy on the day of his death. I don’t know what the date currently is, but I know that when I came here, it was twenty days away,” he told him.

“Twenty days. What day is today?” he questioned him.

“Today will be day 19,” Bludgeon said as he turned back towards him. “19 days of living in this hell. 19 days of fighting for not just my life, but everyone here.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Skywarp agreed. “So, going to burn an effigy tomorrow?”

“Yes, I am,” Bludgeon agreed.

“Well… that gives me an idea,” Skywarp said with a smirk.

“Idea? What do you mean?” he asked, glaring at him.

“Well, why don’t we make it festive and not for just Jhiaxus, but for everyone that died here.” Skywarp recommended.

“Huh? Why?” Bludgeon asked, confused.

“Look, a third of us are dead, okay,” Skywarp reminded him. “We need something to remind people what’s happen. The ten that died are all because of this sick game. The least we can do is honor them, wouldn’t you agree.”

“How… thoughtful of you,” Bludgeon muttered.

“I have a good idea every now and then, now you want to help me with that?” Skywarp questioned him.

“Hmm, we should probably get the permission of the majority of the teachers first,” Bludgeon muttered. “There is some bad blood among the dead with the living, particularly with Shockwave and Vortex. Those two weren’t particularly well-liked.”

“Well, that’s true, but we still need to ban together under something. We have to discourage a murder so we get our hands on the mastermind,” Skywarp told them. “Some people may not care about some of the dead, but we all have to get under something. I may not like everyone, but we need to work together.”

“True, to defeat the mastermind, we need to trust one another, which is close to impossible. Still, we have to give it a try,” Bludgeon agreed. “If we can get them to agree to it, we can make the effigies and burn them in memoriam.”

“Great. Tomorrow, let’s see if we can get him to agree to it,” Skywarp nodded. “Still, this does leave me with one more question.”

“What’s that?”

“What exactly is your relationship with Nautilator?” Skywarp questioned him and Bludgeon gave him an evil glare before he responded.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it. I care about him, but I don’t want to. I already gave everything I had for Jhiaxus, so to care for him would be to betray Jhiaxus. I can’t do that,” he told him, sounding conflicted.

“He’s dead. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind… nah, I can’t say it. I heard Jhiaxus was a bit of an aft,” Skywarp muttered.

“He was a complicated individual. Trust me, he used to have a kinder spark before his experiments spiraled his sanity down to madness. And through it all, I was always by his side, keeping him safe, until he died,” Bludgeon muttered. “He was all I was allow to get close to. No one else.”

“Look, this whole order, clan, whatever that you were with has probably been destroyed, so I’m pretty sure that they wouldn’t mind if you got close to someone else,” the jet continued to attempt to calm him down.

“It’s not about them. It’s about Jhiaxus. I can’t just betray him like this, and yet I can’t deny that I feel something for the small fool. It’s not much, but I do want to protect him like I protected Jhiaxus. It would be something that gives me purpose in life,” Bludgeon muttered.

“Then do it!” Skywarp told him. “If Jhiaxus cared about you, then he would let you be able to move on. If he didn’t care about you, than screw him.  He didn’t deserve your protection,” the prankster badgered him. Bludgeon kept quiet, keeping his head down as he thought it through. Skywarp knew that he must be emotionally troubled about this.

“We’ll… figure this out later,” Bludgeon told him. “Once we kill the mastermind, I’ll make my decision. Besides, we need Nautilator to wake up first.”

“Yeah, he’s still in his coma,” Skywarp agreed. “Hope he wakes up soon.”

“As do I, as much as I usually wouldn’t want to,” Bludgeon agreed. “Now, you want to do a combat simulation together and spread those wings of yours?”

“Frag yeah,” he agreed. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A fluff chapter, but I feel like it's a needed one, especially since it lets me expand on Bludgeon's conflicting emotions and Skywarp's more helpful side.


	80. Chapter 6: Mourning Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating two stories in one day is good for the soul.
> 
> Also, pun in chapter title.

Jazz entered the lunchroom at 7 on the dot, feeling like shit. Yesterday was the most psychologically stressful day of his time here. Being betrayed by both Dead End and Smokescreen stung, particularly the latter considering he was an Autobot and the working relationship they had all throughout the war. He knew some of the Autobots could be a bit deranged and Smokescreen strike him as slightly odd, but he never took him for a complete psychopath. The way he coldly explained his points was a terrifying thing to behold. That isn’t to say Dead End’s betrayal didn’t hurt either, but he had a feeling that his were a lot more because of a mental disorder and a result of Smokescreen’s own actions. So in a way, he could blame Smokescreen for everything, which was great, as he was now officially on the top of his (as well as pretty much everyone else’s) shitlist. Add on to the fact that he scared Rewind with that datapad, and the fact that Ratchet, one of the most trustworthy and reliable people around, had to be brutally executed for Smokescreen and Dead End’s betrayal, and you have one very stressful day.

He took a seat and drink some of his energon as Bludgeon and Skywarp both entered looking excited, the latter holding Laserbeak in his hands. “That was fun, Bludgeon!” Skywarp cheered as the two took some energon and sat near Jazz.

“What did you guys do together?” Jazz asked, confused. He never took those two for a pair.

“We were in the new area, which has five new sections, and were trying out the combat room, specifically using the combat simulation,” Bludgeon answered.

“Combat simulation? You mean like virtual reality,” he asked.

“Bingo!” Skywarp said. “Just plug in and start shooting, or sneak around in your case,” he sniped.

“Huh, you say there were five sections? What about the others?” he asked them.

“A laboratory, a cleaning room, a music room, and a foundry,” Bludgeon told the spy.

“That’s an odd assortment,” Jazz remarked.

“No kidding. They’re all pretty big too. We took a look at them before coming here,” the teleporter said.

“Huh, could be dangerous, especially the laboratory and foundry,” he warned them.

“It might be, but that’s the price we pay for surviving this long,” Bludgeon reminded him.

“Yeah, I know. So many people have died here,” he said. At that, the two Decepticons looked at each other and silently agreed to talk to Jazz about the ritual they had plan, since him and Onslaught was the closest they had to a leader here and the latter was probably still in turmoil over Blast Off’s death.

“Hey, Jazz, we have a question for you,” Skywarp told him.

“You do? What about?” he asked them.

“As you probably know, morale here is reaching an all-time low,” he said. “We need something to bring everyone together.”

“Well… I don’t argue against that. You guys got any idea?” Jazz asked them.

“Simple. We go to the foundry and create effigies for the ones that have fallen during our time here,” Bludgeon said. “After making them, tomorrow, we’ll burn it in a celebration as a sign of respect and in memoriam.”

“That… actually doesn’t sound that bad,” Jazz agreed, surprised. “What made you come up with that idea?”

“I burn an effigy of Jhiaxus every year at the day of his death. Tomorrow is that day, at least as far as I know. Our memory is a fickle thing,” he told him.

“Ah, yes, Jhiaxus. I remember that.”

“You should. I remember that you were the one who led the assault there,” he reminded him.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t remember that part,” he said nervously.

“Ease yourself. You didn’t directly kill him, so you are safe from my wrath. If you did killed him, I would be obligated to kill you myself to atone for my failures,” he told him.

“You know how to make a mech feel better, you know that Bludgeon?” Jazz asked him sarcastically.

“Hey, back on topic,” Skywarp interrupted them, wanting to prevent conflict. “We think this would be a good thing to have. Sure some of the people here weren’t exactly well-liked, particularly Shockwave and Vortex, but they all died because of one person and that is the mastermind who put us in this game. They were all victims of this lunatic, so we need to get people together to trust one another and kill this jackass,” he finished making his case.

“That… is a good plan,” Jazz agreed. “I’ll see if I can get people on board.”

“On board what?” they heard someone asked and turned to see Knock Out entered the room with a scowl. A fresh set of bandages were wrapped around his body, but his face didn’t have any, allowing him to sport the deep scar going from above his right optic down to below the left side of his jaw. Over his right eye was his red eyepatch, hiding his shattered optic. He definitely didn’t look the best. Even his frame wasn’t looking as lustrous as it usually did.

“We were planning a celebration. A day for the dead, if you will,” Jazz told him.

“A day for the dead?” Knock Out questioned as he grabbed some energon and took a seat with them.

“Yeah. A third of us are dead, you know,” Skywarp reminded him. “We need something to ban together under.”

“And what would this celebration have?” the only doctor left asked.

“A burning of effigies that represent the dead,” Bludgeon told him.

“And you plan on getting everyone involve with for everyone that died, including Shockwave, Vortex, and their murderers? You really think everyone’s going to want to do that?” he questioned them skeptically.

“We don’t know, but we can sure try,” Jazz told him. “We’ve been fractured this whole time. It’s time we get together and do something as a unified force that doesn’t end up with one of us executed,” he explained to him.

“I never said I was against it. Ratchet is certainly someone who deserves a memorial for his heroics. All I’m saying is that, do you really want to do this for people like Shockwave and Vortex? They weren’t exactly saints that didn’t deserve their fate, you know,” Knock Out reminded them.

“We realize this, but ultimately, they were nothing more than victims in this game created by the mastermind. None of them deserved to die in this cruel game of life or death. We can at least honor their sacrifices,” Bludgeon told him.

“Hmm, you guys talk a good talk. You might be able to get it going, although you’re really going to have to work it for some of the others, like Beachcomber. As we all know, he _despises_ Shockwave with a fury of a thousand suns. Getting him on board will be difficult,” he told them.

“That is true. What Shockwave did to him is unforgiveable, but we have to encourage unity. I’ll see if I can get him on board. Onslaught and him have something of a friendship going on. I’m sure I can get him to understand. Besides, Punch will be honored as well in the celebration and I know he’ll want him to be remembered.”

“That would be a good way of tackling him,” Skywarp agreed.

After that, more people slowly leaked and at about 8 o’clock, everyone, barring Hound, Nautilator and Drift in the Med-Bay had arrived. Most looked okay, like Blurr, Mixmaster, and especially Smokescreen, who just sat quietly and observed everyone as they talked, while others like Rewind, looked nervous and wasn’t paying attention. Dead End looked annoyed at having Sparky on top of his head as Wildrider forced him to hold on to it so that he can have something to cuddle him as part of his therapy. After a little while, Jazz had everyone quiet down and explained to them Skywarp and Bludgeons plan.

“So you want us to celebrate a bunch of dead people?” Smokescreen asked, disinterested.

“You can eject yourself from the conversation whenever you want,” Jazz told him and he merely shrugged before tapping his fingers on the table.

“I don’t know. I don’t feel comfortable at all giving someone like Shockwave a memorial,” Beachcomber told him.

“But we’ll be remembering Punch as well,” Skywarp told him. “Him and Counterpunch, since they’re basically two different people.”

“Still seems like a waste of time,” Dead End told him. “People die. It’s the way life goes. I don’t see how this helps.”

“Deady,” Wildrider interrupted, “Don’t cause any more rifts than you already have. Just cuddle Sparky.” The cynic glared at him before relenting, taking the plushy off his head and hugging it. “There, you’ll feel all better soon enough.”

“I don’t mind. Chromedome deserves to be remember. I mean, he gave his life to protect me,” he said uncertainly. Obviously, the info on the datapad that Jazz had was still affecting him.

“They all have to be remembered. Remember, they all die because the bastard that put us here forced us to kill each other,” Bumblebee told them.

“I guess they do deserve remembrance,” Hoist acknowledged. “We have to ban together under something.”

“And remember the people we cared about,” Onslaught said, the death of his three gestaltmates and Swindle’s waning sanity weighing heavy on him.

“Yeah,” Mixmaster said as he rest a hand on Scavenger’s shoulders. “We all have people to care about. Better make sure they get out.”

“Except for the psychopath,” Blurr said, glaring at Smokescreen, who just ignored him.

“Is there any objections to the ceremony?” Jazz asked everyone. Everyone sat quietly, thinking through, before one-by-one, they all agreed. “So, everyone wants to do it?”

“We have to have a banner to fight under, so yes,” Knock Out agreed, “baring we can keep the Smokescreen out.” At that, Smokescreen decided to finally respond to everyone’s hatred for him.

“Look, everyone, you all know what I’m really like now, so I am at your mercy,” he told them earnestly. “I can’t murder anyone, because you would all immediately suspect me. It’s in my best interest to work with all of you, instead of working for myself,” he told them.

“You expect us to trust you after all the shit you pulled?” Hoist questioned him.

“No, of course not. Trusting me in the first place was one of your biggest mistakes,” he told them. “However, that said, I am here because of luck and Ratchet’s sacrifice. Believe it or not, I do want to offer Ratchet my gratitude. Without him, I wouldn’t be alive.”

“I sure prefer him over you,” Knock Out muttered.

“Plus, what do you have to gain from keeping me isolated by myself?” he asked them.

“He’s got a point. I feel more comfortable knowing his actions,” Bumblebee said.

“Or we can just tie him up and leave him bound in his room,” Blurr said.

“And leave me vulnerable to be murdered?” the serial killer questioned them. “Now, you and I both know that’s a bad idea. I may be an unrepentant scumbag, but you don’t have to be homicidal to commit murder. We should all know that just from looking at the previous trials.”

“He makes another good point. As much as I want to just tie him up and leave him bound, anyone could take advantage of that to murder him. I rather not give anyone the perfect opportunity,” Jazz told them.

“Thanks for coming to my defense, Jazz,” he acknowledged.

“It’s not because I like you. When we get out, I expect you to be arrested and put on trial for your actions,” Jazz told him.

“Better than being dead,” he agreed with a shrug. “Of course, you can only do that if the outside world is okay.”

“We’ll worry about that when the time comes. Just remember that we’re all watching you,” the spy told him.

“I know. I am at your mercy,” he repeated to everyone. “I promise, that evil thought of leaving all of you to die is gone. It’s useless to me now.”

“I only buy that because you planning a murder is useless to you now,” Swindle agreed as he glared at his former friend.

“Exactly. You can trust me to not murder anyone anymore. Aside from that, you really can’t trust me with anything else,” he said with a grin.

“Dude, seriously, me and you? Serial killer alliance,” Wildrider said with a grin.

“I think it’s in my best interest not to associate with a fellow serial killer,” he told him. “Apologies.”

“Well then, if that’s all, let’s prepare for this celebration tomorrow,” Jazz ordered everyone.


	81. Chapter 6: Should We Execute?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: Thanks for hitting over 5000 hits and reaching 100 kudos! Glad to see people really liking the story.

The large group went over to the foundry. Inside was a highly industrialized, wide-open room with machines all around, ready to help people make whatever they want. The walls and floor were an ashen gray with steel girders easily noticeable around the walls, ceiling, and columns to help keep it up. The place had two levels, the second being way up on walkways to help guide people on the ground for larger productions.

“This place is not friendly looking,” Beachcomber immediately noticed as they looked around.

“It’s a foundry. What do you expect?” Scavenger immediately responded to him. “These are places where you build things, a lot of the time, those things are weapons of war. We certainly built a lot…”

“We’re not here to build those this time, Scavenger,” Mixmaster told his gestaltmate. “We’re here to honor the dead.”

“Yeah, of course,” he nodded.

“So, what type of an effigy do you make?” Jazz asked Bludgeon.

“A simple metal figure with the name of the deceased on it. You can decorate it however you please to further resemble them,” the metallikato expert explained to them. “Any amateur metalworker could craft these.”

“Most of us aren’t even that,” Blurr responded to that.

“Well, me and Scavenger could probably make some if Bludgeon can as well,” Mixmaster volunteered the two of them. “We’re the Constructicons for a reason.”

“Y-yeah… I guess,” Scavenger nodded along. “I won’t promise it’ll look good, but I can make one.”

“Anyone else?” Bludgeon asked the group.

“Unfortunately, metallurgy isn’t a field of study I’m knowledgeable of,” Perceptor told him, with the rest of the crowd agreeing with the scientist.

“So, me and the Constructicons will create the effigies. Once we’re done, you can modify them as a group,” Bludgeon told them.

That sounds alright. How long will it take you?” Onslaught questioned them.

“To create an effigy for all of the dead plus Punch and Jhiaxus, I say at least two hours,” he estimated. “Could be more.”

“All right, then we’ll leave you to it,” Jazz agreed.

“Feel free to explore the other areas while we are engaged with our task,” Bludgeon encouraged them.

“Sure thing. I’m sure we’re all interested in exploring them.”

“We’ll get you guys when we’re done,” Mixmaster told them as the three went off to start building.

“Right, you hear them. Let’s go check out the rest of the buildings,” Jazz told them.

* * *

 

“Hey, Hound, are you awake?” Rewind asked Hound as he went back to the medical bay to find him groaning softly, his EKG starting to normalize. Drift was busy recharging, his EKG showing his spark pulsating mostly normally, while Nautilator appeared to still be in his coma, his EKG being really slow.

“Rewind, is that you?” Hound asked as he moved his head over to look at him.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said as he took a seat on the slab next to him. “How you’re feeling?”

“Ugh… lots of pain,” he told him, “but I can bear it. I’ve been through worst in the war.”

“Hah, I sure hope so,” Rewind laughed roughly.

“It still hurts. Been dealing with this for a half-hour. Wanna get Ratchet to help get me on some painkillers?” he asked him with a rough smile only to make Rewind slump his shoulders and twiddle his fingers together apprehensively. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

“Ratchet… was executed.”

“What?!” Hound barked as he sit up before hissing in pain. “Ah!” he hissed as he laid back down softly.

“Hound, please don’t stress-”

“How the hell did that happen?!” Hound hissed darkly. Rewind sighed before he explained the whole situation to Hound, who got progressively more pissed off as he went on until he finished with Ratchet’s execution. “I knew I should’ve killed that fucker!” he growled at the end of it.

“Please, calm down, Hound,” Rewind insisted with his arms around him, trying to cool him down. He wasn’t used to Hound being this hostile.

“You expect me to remain calm with that bastard and that narcissistic nihilist still having a pulsing spark? They have to pay for this,” he told him.

“And they will. Jazz has already agreed to put Smokescreen on trial for his actions. As for Dead End, he needs help. There’s something wrong with his mind. When we get out, he needs a therapist. Maybe Rung can help him,” Rewind told him.

“What makes you think we’ll find people out there?” Hound asked him, startling him. “We’ve seen so many signs that things are wrong outside. How about, when we kill the headmaster, we just take justice in our own hands and execute them as well.”

“H-Hound!” Rewind yelled, dumbfounded by how severe he was acting. “That’s insane. We can’t just execute people like that! I mean, you’re a preservationist. You should know how valuable life is.”

“And sometimes, you have to snuff a life out in order to preserve more lives,” he told him darkly and Rewind could only stared at him, speechless. His face had scrunch up into a look of pure hatred, his blue optics turned icy, and his scowl deeper than anyone else’s. Rewind had greatly underestimated Hound’s capability for malice.

“Hound, please, this isn’t like you and-”

“What are you talking about? Are you saying it’s not like me to care about people’s lives, including yours?” Hound asked him and Rewind was unnerved by this. He could see the reason to execute Smokescreen, but Dead End? He was mentally ill, not evil.

“Hound… maybe you should just rest. You just woke up from getting injured. Your mind is not in the best place,” he said, depressed.

“Rewind,” Hound said, his tone lightening, “I care for you, okay. There’s nothing wrong with me. Just with those two. It’s just like removing an invasive species to save all the others in an area.”

“No, it isn’t, Hound. It’s- forget about it,” Rewind muttered as he got off the slab and walked off.

“Rewind!” the preservationist begged as he left the medical bay. He sighed as the archivist left and just relaxed on the slab again. He hated upsetting Rewind like that, but Smokescreen and Dead End were toxic elements that had to be taken care of for Rewind’s sake. Worst of all, as he felt the pain in his chest flare up again, was that he didn’t get his damn painkillers.

* * *

 

“Impressive place,” Jazz said as he walked into the music room with Bumblebee in tow. The place was a bit smaller than the foundry, but it certainly felt a lot bigger with how open it was and it’s inviting red-and-yellow tile flooring with red walls and yellow ceiling. At the end of the room was a conductor stand where they lead the group and all kinds of synthetic instruments were around the area, with the occasional organic instrument.

“This place is pretty nice,” Bumblebee agreed as he took a seat at a piano and examined it. “Looks clean too.” He pressed a few keys and the notes were played beautifully, no sounding at all decayed or out of tune. “Kept in good condition too.”

“Excellent,” Jazz hummed as he went over to a steel drum, grabbed a stick with a rubber end, and lightly tapped it the inside of it, eliciting a bright, cheery sound. “Heh, sounds nice,” he said giddily as he played a few more notes, trying to figure out all of the possible notes before imitating an old song, humming along with it.

“Hey, that sounds alright. What is that?” Bumblebee asked him.

“Oh, this?” Jazz asked, pausing his playing. “It’s a short song called ‘Hope to the Hopeless.’ It’s an old song created during the first war.”

“Right, the first war… what was that like?”

“I don’t know. I was created after that. The song became popular after the war even though it was created after it. Lots of different variations of it have been made over the years,” he told him.

“Hmm, how interesting. Know how the lyrics go?” Bumblebee asked him.

“Yeah, sure. They go… hey, Rewind! How you doing?” Jazz yelled out and Bumblebee turned to see the archivist entering the room, looking morose.

“He doesn’t look cheerful,” Bumblebee noted as he walked around and examined the area. “Want to go see what’s up?”

“I don’t know if I’m the best at this current moment… why don’t you go see what’s going on by yourself and I’ll listen in from over here,” he said, earning a look from the scout.

“Is there something going on between you two that I should be informed about?” he asked.

“Don’t ask any more questions,” Jazz ordered and Bumblebee gave him a suspicious glare.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he said as he approached Rewind, who took a seat on an empty chair. Bumblebee took a seat on another chair beside the archivist. “Hey, Rewind,” he began softly, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m… unsure about things,” Rewind responded, looking up at him with pain in his optics.

“Does it have something to do with Jazz?” the scout asked.

“This particular problem doesn’t involve him. It’s Hound,” Rewind told him, which surprised him, but it made sense. Hound was still unconscious.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sure Hound will wake up soon.”

“He’s awake.”

“Oh,” Bumblebee murmured, confused. “Then what’s the problem?”

“I told him what happened to Ratchet,” he said and Bumblebee understood what he meant.

“Damn… imagine just waking up from being injured and hearing that,” he muttered, sympathetic.

“He… didn’t take it well. He believes that, after we kill the headmaster, we should execute Smokescreen and Dead End,” he told him and Bumblebee appeared to be a bit surprised at that.

“Really? He doesn’t seem that vindictive,” he asked in disbelief.

“You should hear him talk about it. He sounds like a completely different person,” Rewind told him. “He looked so angry and spoke with such venom. I never seen him act like that before, much less want people to be executed. I could understand Smokescreen, but Dead End? He’s mentally ill, not a sociopath.”

“Yeah… executing Dead End is a bit much, even if he played a part in Ratchet getting executed,” Bumblebee agreed. He was mad at Dead End, but in the end, he appeared to forgive him and pin most of the blame on Smokescreen’s. That isn’t to say he had no problems executing Smokescreen as well. It seemed wrong to him to do something like that.

“He even justified it by saying he wanted to protect us; to protect me. That just felt so… wrong,” he muttered and Bumblebee couldn’t help, but place a hand on him.

“Don’t worry. He was critically injured, remember? He may be acting a bit off because of that,” the warborn tried to comfort him. “We’ll talk to him later when he’s a bit calmer.”

“Yeah… although he probably needs some painkillers first. Must be in quite a bit of pain… scrap! I forget to get him some painkillers. I was too busy explaining the whole situation to him,” he realized.

“Well… maybe we should give him some time to himself. If he’s that ticked off, he needs some time to himself,” he told him.

“I-I guess,” he nodded. “But, we should still go see him soon so we can administer a painkiller to him. He has to be in a lot of pain.”

“Sure thing. Until then, let’s examine these instruments. They look fun,” Bumblebee tried to cheer him up.

“Yeah, I guess… I need something to lift my spirits,” he agreed.

“Yeah! Come on. Let’s have some fun.”

* * *

 

“This is _marvelous_ ,” Perceptor said as he examined the spacious laboratory with Beachcomber, Hoist, Smokescreen, and the Stunticons. It was far bigger than the ones in the first building with far more chemical around the cabinets and multiple floors with walkways for bigger experiments, with all of the wall, flooring, ceiling, and tables being white to make stains very noticable.

“Hello, murder central,” Beachcomber sarcastically said as he examined a cabinet full of chemicals. “Seriously, this place has a lot of items one can use to kill people. Poisons, chemicals to make explosives, acids: might as well make the science store obsolete in terms of murder potential.”  

“I know! Isn’t that wonderful?” Wildrider shouted as he got near Perceptor, who was examining a computer terminal, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Please, let go,” Perceptor ordered and the manic did so.

“You got him trained pretty well,” Hoist noticed next to Beachcomber.

“Not bad at all,” Smokescreen agreed, sitting at a table.

“Your opinion is not valued here,” Hoist told him bluntly.

“I was agreeing with you, friend,” the gambler told him.

“Don’t call me a friend,” the repairer said harshly.

“It’s sad how you two have ended up. You should be like me and Perceptor,” Wildrider told them while bumping the scientist with his elbow, which earned a sigh from Perceptor.

“Friend might be a bit pushing it...,” Cue Wildrider looking sad, “but I certainly find you tolerable, unlike the other serial killer.”

“Seriously? You remember what he did to Counterpunch’s corpse, right? The way he desecrated it. I’m sure you remember, Beachcomber, since that was the body of your former friend,” Smokescreen reminded him.

“Of course I know. That was a disgusting thing to do, but it’s better than bombing us all to hell like you did,” the geologist accused and Smokescreen sighed at that.

“If you insist,” he muttered.

“You’re both a couple of sociopaths. What do you expect?” Hoist questioned him with disdain.

“I actually looked that up and I’m actually clinically labeled as a psychopath, thank you very much,” the gambler corrected him. “Wildrider, I believe, is an actual sociopath.”

“Docs says I am, so that’s true,” Wildrider said with a grin as he crossed his arms in a cocky matter. “You’re talking to one certified sociopath.”

“Please try _not_ to brag about that,” Beachcomber insisted.

“What?” the sociopath asked, confused by his reaction.

“Just… ugh!” Beachcomber groaned with his face in his hand. Obviously, he wasn’t amused by the Stunticon.

“Got any ideas what they mean, Deady?” Wildrider asked his gestaltmate, who was staying quiet in a corner by himself, sitting at a table with sparky on a table and a datapad in his remaining hand. He shifted his look over to him with a glare before returning to his datapad, ignoring him. “Love you too, buddy.”

“Well, if you were sane, you might understand,” Perceptor told him with a condescending pat on the head.

“That is a major handicap,” Smokescreen agreed with them.

“Could say the same about you,” Hoist told him.

“You wound me,” he replied in faux sincerity. “I’m perfectly sane, thank you very much. That’s the main difference between a sociopath and a psychopath.”

“I highly doubt that.”

* * *

 

“This… is fine,” Onslaught said as he was in the Combat room fighting a holographic entity. He ducked a punch from the being and quickly move to the side and stick a combat knife that used to belong to counterpunch in its side and ripped through into the front. The holographic entity bled holographic energon and Onslaught sliced his throat and stabbed it in the heart, destroying the being when it hit the ground.

“Nice work,” Skywarp praised as Swindle watched on with a small smile.

“Thank you,” he said as he walked down from the combat area and offered the knife to Swindle. “You want to give it a try?”

“Um, sure,” he said as he took the knife cautiously and went up to the combat area. Onslaught noticed how strange he was acting, but ignored it as he went to the console and activated the simulation. The holographic entity returned and the two began fighting, the holographic person attacking first. Swindle dodged it, but didn’t dodge the second swipe that hit his side.

“Gah!” he yelled as he felt a shocking sensation in his side, but no actual wounds. “That actually stung a bit.”

“You’re not bleeding, so kill the fragger,” Skywarp ordered and Swindle heard that loud and clear as another strike was heading for him. He dodged that quickly and proceeded to send it to the ground with a kick. When his opportunity in hand, he jumped on it and brought the knife down on it repeatedly and savagely and kept doing so, even after the holographic entity disappeared and he just kept stabbing the ground.

“Woah, Swindle! Calm down!” Onslaught ordered as he went over and took a hold of him. Swindle kept trying to break free before he calmed down.

“Sorry… Ons,” he said while rapidly exhaling. “I just… I thought it was Smokescreen and…”

“Okay, you’re really out of it, aren’t you?” Skywarp said.

“Yeah… I guess I am,” he admitted. “Blast Off’s death and Smokescreen’s betrayal has really gotten to me.”

“Swindle, I’m here for you,” Onslaught told him. “Come see me whenever you want and I’ll get you through this.”

“I hope so. I really hope so…”

* * *

 

“Wow… this place is nice!” Blurr shouted as he entered the cleaning room with Knock Out to see a clean, long reception area with comfortable seats and warm colors around the area. At the reception desk on their left, they found another monochromatic robot that they assume was the same AI as the one controlling the ones in the mall.

“Welcome to the cleaning area! Do you want a buffering, waxing, joint reorientation, greasing the joints, or anything else?” he asked them.

“You are thorough,” Knock Out muttered.

“Of course we are. We want the best for you. Just one thing. I can only take care of you one at a time,” the AI responded to them.

“Of course you do,” Blurr muttered at that before turning to Knock Out. “I imagine you want to use it first.”

“Why bother. Not like I’ll ever be perfect again. Go ahead,” the fashion expert said.

“What?” Blurr asked, shocked by what he said.

“You got a problem? Go on,” he insisted, stepping back to let him through.

“Okay…,” Blurr said suspiciously before moving up to the counter. “Alright, I’ll go first.”

“What do you need?” the receptionist said as it got ready to input information to his computer.

“Well, I haven’t had a good shine in a while, so I’ll take a buffering and waxing, thank you,” Blurr said.

“Alright. If you want more, just ask the one who joins you,” he said as the door inside opened up. “Head inside and they’ll take care of you. Have a despairing time.”

“Alright,” Blurr said as he headed inside and the door closed, leaving Knock Out alone with the receptionist.

“So, shall I go ahead and reserve you for the next session? You may cancel at any time,” the receptionist said.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” Knock Out agreed.

“Anything specifically?”

“No. I’ll decide when I get in.”

“Alright. Any questions?” it asked as it inputted the reservation. 

“Well… is there anything else you do?” Knock Out asked.

“We also clean items, like weapons and the like. However, those we can only do one at a time when the place is empty, whether it’s another object or a person,” he told him.

“That seems really inefficient.”

“I’m sorry. Monobear cut funding and resources for the place, so we can only do it like this. There’s me and another shell that I control here that can help you and that’s it,” he told him.

“Hmm, guess he doesn’t want us having it too good here,” Knock Out muttered.

“Duh. We got to have despair, like the slowly burning one in you,” the AI said.

“Come again?” the doctor said as he glared at it.

“You used to care for your looks so much and now? You seem to have lost that spark,” the receptionist noticed.

“I took a bomb blast and lost an optic. Why bother when there’s no way to return to my old self without a competent surgeon like Ratchet,” he told him.

“Yes, I remember the whole incident. What a surprising result,” he said with a grin. “Caused so much despair among you. It was glorious.”

“I wouldn’t brag about that,” Knock Out warn him. “Ratchet was a dear colleague of mine and his death was undeserved. You and I both know that if you know what happens.”

“I admit, the rules were a bit weird, but I can’t argue with the results,” he replied to that.

“Listen,” Knock Out said, slamming his fist on the counter, “I understand your way of thinking is screwed up as you were created that way, but I won’t betray everyone after this. The mastermind made this personal. I lost Ratchet and my aesthetic perfection to this game. The only thing that’s keeping me going is the hope of the mastermind’s death. This isn’t despair, but a renew hope for seeing your mastermind die.” The AI stared at Knock Out in surprised. He wasn’t expecting a speech that impassioned before going to a more neutral expression.

“So… you still want the reservation?”

“Of course. I won’t pass up the chance for a good waxing, even if I’m not perfect anymore. I can still try my best.”

“Alright, if you insist. We’ll treat you as best as we can. Oh, and will you sign this?” he said as he brought a datapad out and gave it to him. “Please, read it carefully.”

“What do you want?” Knock Out asked as he looked at the datapad to see a single sentence on it.

HAVE YOU FOUND THE MOLE?

Knock Out looked back up at the AI before signing his name and a single word on it before handing it back. The AI read the datapad to see what it said.

NO

“Thank you. I wish you luck in this game and I say that sincerely,” he said and Knock Out believed him. “Maybe you should talk to your repairer fellow as well. Someone that average needs a good shine.” That was true, but Knock Out could tell what the underlying message was. He needed to talk to him about the possible mole and as he thought about it, there was a good reason why. With Smokescreen out of the running, that left Perceptor as the only living suspect.

“I’ll consider that,” he said as he took a seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so we got to see what the rest of the room is like and a bit of Hound's dark side. Hope you enjoyed it.


	82. Chapter 6: Fighters

After two-and-a-half hours, everyone, minus the patients at the medical ward, returned to the foundry. In it, Bludgeon, Scavenger, and Mixmaster were examining the effigies. There were twelve in all, their names etched into the body, representing Shockwave, Soundwave, Vortex, Brawl, Counterpunch, Punch, Chromedome, Mirage, Nightbeat, Blast Off, Ratchet, and Jhiaxus. The effigies all appeared to be simple metal figurines waiting for decorations to be added onto them, each having slight variations to help resemble the one they represent. They were of pretty good quality as well. “Here are the effigies,” Bludgeon told them as he grabbed the Jhiaxus effigy. “Do with them what you want. The Burning will be tomorrow,” he said as he walked past them. The group watched him go with stomping feet before crowding and looking over the metal figurines.

“We tried our best. We hope you like them,” Scavenger said timidly as he tapped his fingers against each other and curled his shovel-tail around him.

“We’re sure you did,” Jazz comforted him as he examined them, which seemed to make Scavenger feel slightly better.

“Thanks,” he murmured.

“This feels weird,” Swindle said as he picked up the one resembling Vortex, which had rotor blades on the back.

“Indeed,” Onslaught muttered as he picked up Blast Off and Brawl’s effigies, the former having air fins at the back and the legs while the latter was noticeably bulkier than the other ones.

“It does look a bit like them,” Rewind agreed as he picked up the Chromedome one, it being leaner and taller than the other were. He looked it over with Wildrider next to him giving him a pat on the back.

“It’ll be fine, you cutie,” he said, which both comforted and disturbed Rewind.

“Okay,” he replied shyly.

“They should,” Knock Out said as he grabbed the Ratchet one, it not really having any defining characteristic of the Autobot medic, which he’ll soon fix with by painting it white-and-red.

“I can’t tell these two apart,” Beachcomber said as he looked Punch and Counterpunch over, the two nearly alike. The only real difference was that they had two slightly different head-sculpts.

“Oh, Mirage,” Hoist muttered as he looked the sleek effigy over.

“The inquisitive detective, now just another sacrifice,” Dead End muttered as he looked Nightbeat over, not having many defining traits to separate it from the other effigies.

“Even as an effigy, my scientific colleague has an unsettling aura to him,” Perceptor said as he examined Shockwave’s effigy, it having one arm that resembled a gun and a singular optic. “Impressive.”

“At least he isn’t creepy,” Blurr said as he examined Soundwave's effigy and it's blank face. “Glad that silent freak is- gah!” he yelled as the injured Laserbeak suddenly jumped on him and scratched him up with its beak and talons. “I mean I’m sorry he’s dead! Please stop. I just got this waxed!”

“Laserbeak, please leave the jerk alone,” Skywarp ordered and he did so, returning to his owner and dropping the Soundwave effigy in his hand. “Guess I can take care of this for you.”

“Please, do so,” Blurr said as he looked himself over. “Damn pet scratch me.”

“What you get for insulting the dead,” Mixmaster scoffed.

“He’s been dead for over two weeks,” he remarked. “I’m pretty sure the period of mourning has passed, especially since we’re stuck in a life-or-death game.”

“He’s right. There are bigger things to worry about,” Smokescreen agreed.

“Aw, scrap. Why did you agree with me?” the racer groaned, ducking and hiding his face in his palm.

“What? Does my opinion automatically make the one I agree with less valuable?” the gambler asked everyone.

“Considering that you yourself have admitted to being a certified psychopath, yes,” Beachcomber told him.

“I haven’t been certified, just going by what the psychology journals say,” he responded to them. “You have to get Rung to certify me.”

“Yeah. He certify me and gave me plenty of anti-psychotic medicine that I didn’t take,” Wildrider confirmed to them. “He got a bit annoyed at me for that.”

“As did I,” Dead End grumbled. “Couldn’t you take your meds?”

“What? You didn’t take your meds, so I didn’t either,” he told him, earning a glare from the cynic.

“Why am I not surprised neither of you have taken your meds?” Knock Out said to himself. “Would explain a lot of things.”

“Well, is there anything else here to do?” Jazz questioned everyone. “We got the effigies, so we should go ahead and prepare them for that.”

“Some of us should also go check on Bludgeon, since he knows how the whole ceremony works,” Skywarp told him. “I’ll go do that if you want.”

“I’ll accompany you,” the spy offered. “If there’s nothing else to talk about, let’s separate and do our job.”

* * *

 

“This is starting to get annoying,” Hound muttered as he laid on the med-bay’s berth, his chest stinging from the pain. Not helping matters was the other stinging sensations in his left shoulder and thigh that were also from the explosion. He really wished Ratchet were still around. He could’ve taken good care of him. He was always a good caretaker, as well as a highly capable surgeon. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen anymore because of the psychopath and the narcissistic cynic. Now, the only people with advance medical practice were Scavenger and Knock Out and neither were as good of a caretaker as Ratchet and the former was still in training as well. “Really wish Ratchet was still here.”

“You’re not the only one,” he heard a familiar voice said and turned to see Drift as he was sitting up on the berth, looking at him, the dent in his white head still visible.

“Hey, Drift,” Hound greeted him. “How’s your head doing?”

“It’s fine,” he said as he toss his legs over the side. “Just need to buffer it and it’ll be fine.”

“Good to hear,” the preservationist said as he pushed himself up to balance on his good arm. “So, you heard about Ratchet?”

“Yes, I have. Smokescreen planted the bomb while Dead End suicide attempt caused Ratchet to kill Blast Off on accident. He was summarily executed while the ones who actually had dangerous intent were left alone. A bunch of bullshit,” he growled before smashing his fist against his berth. “It’s nothing but an injustice.”

“On that, we can agree on,” Hound nodded. “Although some people may not like it. I told Rewind that we should just execute the two bastards once this is all over and he got scare of me. Huh. Doesn’t he know that I’m trying to protect him? Doesn’t he know the danger that we’re in with them here?”

“I bet he does, but he must be afraid of you plotting to murder them while we’re in the game,” Drift told him, which earned a disapproving look from Hound.

“As if. I’m not going to endanger Rewind like that, you idiot,” Hound told him through gritted teeth.

“I never said you would’ve,” the swordsmech responded, annoyed. “I said that _they_ might. Pretty sure you’ll try your hardest to get them executed once we kill the headmaster and I’ll be by your side when the time comes.”

“Ah… sorry,” Hound apologized.

“It’s okay,” Drift said as he got up on shaky legs, one hand planted on the berth to keep him balanced.

“You okay?” he asked as Drift spend some time holding himself firm before he let go and got his gear on him.

“I’m fine. I’m just going to head out,” he said as he made sure each of his sword sheaths were in place before turning his attention to Hound. “You?”

“Stay here. What else can I do?” Hound asked him.

“Not much,” he admitted before turning his attention to something. “What the hell is that?” Drift asked him and Hound turned to see his ghost orchid right there on a stand.

“Hey, that’s my ghost orchid,” he said, cheering up as he pulled himself closer to it.

“That’s yours? I thought it was a death threat,” Drift told him.

“Nah, it’s just an endangered plant from Earth. Good to see the container is in full working order. It help manages the temperature in it for the flower,” he said.

“Ooookay,” Drift draw out, not too comfortable with him liking what obviously wasn’t a pretty flower. As he stood there, he heard the Med-Bay doors open towards the racetrack and turned to see Bludgeon enter the area. Bludgeon glared at him before speaking.

“Warrior, are you capable of standing and fighting?” Bludgeon asked him.

“Only one way to find out,” he responded. “Wanna spar in the Auditorium, like usual?”

“That is unnecessary since we have a combat room now,” he responded.

“We do?” Drift asked and Bludgeon responded with a nod. “Alright. That’s good to know that we got an actual place to fight now.”

“It certainly is,” Bludgeon responded as he walked over to the still Nautilator. “Do any of you know of his condition?”

“No, I don’t,” Drift said as did Hound. “If you want someone who might know how he’s doing, get Knock Out to look him over. I have no idea how to project when someone will wake up.”

“The vain doctor… well, he’s not exactly acting vain much anymore, but he’s acting in vengeance because of his vanity. Sort of turning his vanity to utility. Good to see,” Bludgeon muttered.

“He may be vain, but he’s still a good doctor. If Ratchet approved of his skills, then I believe he’s competent enough,” Drift told him.

“That’s true,” Hound agreed. “If he impresses Ratchet, then he has a lot of talent.”

“Huh, we’ll see,” Bludgeon responded before turning. “Now, do you feel capable enough to head to the combat room?”

“Yeah, I’m more than capable,” he said, straightening his stand confidently.

“Hmph, we’ll see.”

* * *

 

Drift and Bludgeon met up at the combat room and Bludgeon brought him to the combat simulation machine. “I want us to fight to the death, without actually killing one of us, so that we don’t hold back. It will be realistic,” Bludgeon explained to him.

“Huh, I like that,” Drift said as the two of them took a seat and plugged themselves in. His vision went black and he was transported to a square arena in a temple. He was at one end while Bludgeon was at the other. The two stared each down, drawing their blades, before they ran at each other and brought their swords against each other. Drift brought his swords down while Bludgeon kept his single sword up to keep him from cutting him. He pushed up, not letting him gain any ground, before pushing back, making Drift stumble backward. Bludgeon brought his blade down with a guttural yell and Drift held his swords up to block him as well. Bludgeon jumped to the left and Drift was barely able to counter it.

‘My reaction time… it has slow down,’ Drift thought as Bludgeon continued to slash at him with raw power jumping to the right and slashing across, which Drift dodged by jumping up and slashing at him with his left sword towards his head. He dodged it, but not without nicking his neck cord, making a small amount of energon spill out. The two were apart again and Bludgeon felt his neck to feel a small trickle of energon falling from it.

“The first successful strike belongs to you, but I will strike the decisive blow,” he said before sprinting to him at a rapid pace and Drift was only barely able to block that before Bludgeon kept giving a flurry of blows. Drift kept trying to disarm him, but Bludgeon kept moving at a rapid pace and gave him no room to maneuver. Drift kept moving to avoid him, but he was a force of nature and one little slip-up when Bludgeon pulled a fake led to a cut on his left leg.

“Gah!” Drift yelled as he felt energon sliding down his legs. “Not bad,” he complimented before he got on the offensive instead, using the fact he had two blades to his advantage to force him to block one but not the other. He got several nicks in and even a rather large cut on his midsection, but nothing was a definitive blow. Bludgeon proved that despite his size, he was surprisingly mobile as he started using his speed to avoid him. As the two fought, Drift started to feel dizzy and he was getting a massive headache. He gave a downward strike and Bludgeon moved to the side. Drift overexerted himself and stumbled forward, giving Bludgeon all the opportunity he needed to bring his blade down on him.

*Slice*

Drift fell to the ground, feeling strange. He groan as he tried to refocus and recalibrate his vision. He looked to left and saw what appeared to be… feet? He looked up the feet to see that they were his legs. He stared at them in confusion before he felt pain at his midsection and looked down at his body to see everything from his midsection down was missing with energon gushing out and wires hanging out from it. At the realization, he could only scream in agony as Bludgeon brought his blade down on his head.

* * *

 

“Guah!” Drift gasped as he woke up back in the real world, exhaling and inhaling at a rapid pace. The pain… it felt so real. His legs were separated from his body and he could feel every ounce of energon draining from him. Bludgeon wasn’t kidding when he said it would be realistic. And that headache he felt was intense.

“You were not ready,” he heard Bludgeon said and turned to see him stand up again over him.

“What do you mean? Of course I was-”

“You misunderstand. I mean your health is not up to par. You were unfocused. Not paying attention. I sense that your mind was troubled. Your wounds still affect you,” he told him and Drift had his head down at that. “You must wait until you have heal before we attempt to fight again.”

“Yeah… I guess you’re right,” he agreed melancholically.

“You’re capable of normal movement, but you have a ways to go before you can fight again,” Bludgeon told him as he turned to see Jazz and Skywarp approached them. “Yes?”

“Bludgeon, we need to talk about- Drift? Are you okay?” Jazz asked as he saw the swordsmech looking miserable in the chair.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I can move around now, although I need to wait before I can fight again at full capacity,” he responded.

“Oh, okay,” Jazz muttered while scratching his head.

“So, Bludgeon, how exactly do we do this whole sacrifice of the effigies thing?” Skywarp asked Bludgeon as Laserbeak had the effigy of Soundwave in his grasp.

“That? Well, we’re going to need a pole for each one. Doesn’t matter the material. After that, we need to have an accelerant that can burn at high temperatures. We tie each effigy to its own pole and light it ablaze. It’s that simple,” he told them.

“Huh, I guess we can do that,” Jazz said.

“Anyone can,” Bludgeon told them. “I shall set them up, if you want me to.”

“Sure thing. And get Hoist to help you as well,” he recommended.

“Right, I’m off. Heal up, Drift,” he told the swordsmech before leaving.

“I’ll try,” he responded as Bludgeon left.

* * *

 

With that, most of the day was spent with preparations for the event tomorrow. Bludgeon and Hoist prepped the poles up at the middle of the racetrack, as it had plenty of room for them to use. The others prepped the effigies, decorating them for the event. It was about seven when they finished. They met up at the lunchroom and decided to do it tomorrow at night.

* * *

 

“So, you think he will wake up tomorrow?” Bludgeon asked Knock Out as they were looking over the still form of Nautilator. The only other person was Hound, who was blissfully unaware of them thanks to the painkillers Knock Out prescribed to him.

“It all depends on Nautilator. Waking up from a coma takes a lot of willpower,” Knock Out explained to him. “His pulse is fine. His health is good. All that it really takes is for him to wake up, whenever he wants to.”

“Alright,” Bludgeon nodded.

“I offer no guarantees. It may help if you stay with him. Some say that the voice of a loved one will help wake them, but this is merely speculation,” the doctor told him with crossed arms. “Are you considered a love one?”

“Probably the closest he has to one,” Bludgeon told him and Knock Out nodded.

“What a shame,” he muttered dispassionately before he walked away. “He really has had a sad, lonely life.” Knock Out left the room, leaving Bludgeon alone with Nautilator. The metallikato expert gave a sigh before he took a seat next to Nautilator on a chair.

“You hopefully heard the doctor,” Bludgeon said to him. “I shall stay with you through the night. Hopefully, my presence will wake you from your deep slumber.” Nautilator stayed still as Bludgeon spoke again. “I need someone to protect, someone who I can give my life to, and I hope it will be you. Don’t prove me wrong, Nautilator. I expect us to walk out together along with anyone else that is alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's hope nothing bad happens tomorrow.


	83. Chapter 6: The Sound of Silence

**Day 20**

“Laserbeak, stop picking at my neck cables! I’m painting and I need a steady hand here!” Skywarp yelled at the pet in 5:15 in the morning. Laserbeak decided to wake him up early today, so that he could finish up the Soundwave effigy on time before the whole festival begins. Laserbeak was the one commanding the creation of it, which Skywarp found odd. They were at one of the art room on the third floor. Skywarp was trying his hardest to accurately paint the figure of Soundwave, but Laserbeak wasn’t helping by picking at his neck whenever he thought Skywarp was doing something wrong, which occurred with roughly every five paint strokes.

*Chirp*

“Aw, shut up. You’re the one that’s injured anyway. Just go rest a bit while I take care of this,” Skywarp told him, indicating his injured wing. Laserbeak glared at him before giving an indignant chirp before nipping his neck again. “Gah!” the seeker yelled in pain. “Come on! You almost tore it yesterday attacking Blurr. You need to relax, dammit!”

“What the hell’s going on here?” he heard a voice asked and turned to see Beachcomber, looking haggard.

“What the frag are you doing up?” Skywarp asked.

“Slept a bit. Didn’t sleep very well. Had a few unfortunate images going through my head. Decided to head to one of the other art rooms and finish up my effigies,” Beachcomber said as he showed off the two effigies of Punch and Counterpunch. Punch was a light orange with blue and red for secondary colors and Counterpunch was dark blue with red and orange as secondary colors.

“Huh, not bad. His death was so screw up,” Skywarp muttered.

“No kidding,” the geologist muttered. “Can’t believe Punch is dead.”

“I can’t believe Counterpunch was an artificial personality. Just some thing created by the Autobots to spy on us. Crafty slaggers, no offense,” he told him.

“It’s okay. They screw me out of a friend as well,” Beachcomber agreed.

“Yeah, I guess so. And I guess Counterpunch was real enough. Had to be to roll with the Decepticons all these years,” the prankster said.

“Well, he was apparently so loyal that he became the new dominant personality. You can take comfort with that, I guess,” he consoled him.

“That’s true,” Skywarp nodded, his shoulders relaxing a bit. “What about you? Punch keeping you up?”

“Yes, although it isn’t exactly the main thing. I wasn’t seeing a psychiatrist for that, you know,” Beachcomber told him.

“Yeah… why were you seeing a psychiatrist exactly?” the seeker asked, sounding actually interested.

“Well, I rather keep quiet about all the details and keep it between me and Rung. Let’s just say that it involves Shockwave and that should be enough for you,” Beachcomber told him.

“Shockwave? Frag, he must’ve done some sick experiments on you,” Skywarp muttered. “How did you get captured?”

“That, oh, uh… I don’t know,” Beachcomber muttered, confused. “Memory is fragmented. Rung said that it’s a result of the PTSD. It forces the memory deep down into the memory banks so that I don’t remember.”

“Huh, you really don’t remember?” Skywarp questioned him as he started to pet Laserbeak.

“Well, I remember small pieces. Nothing really definitive. Rung recommended that I don’t look for the answers and I just let it happen naturally,” he responded, sounding unsure.

“Well, what do you remember?”

“Um, well, bit and pieces of what Shockwave did to me and… I remember someone else. This guy that went by Deadlock. Never met him after that,” Beachcomber told him, sounding confused.

“Deadlock? You mean that lying, traitorous slagger?” Skywarp questioned as he slammed his fist against the table.

“What? Uh, yeah, that’s what people said he was. Never knew what happened to him after the incident. Everyone says he’s dead. If he was a traitor, then I assumed he was executed,” Beachcomber told him.

“Wait, you really don’t know what happened to him?” Skywarp asked in disbelief.

“Everyone tells me he’s dead. That’s all I know,” he responded and at that Skywarp couldn’t help but give a harsh laugh.

“Holy slag!” he yelled in between his laugh. “You really don’t know? That’s fragging hilarious.”

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Beachcomber asked, not too comfortable now.

“You idiot! Deadlock is- Ow!” he yelled as Laserbeak pecked him again on the neck again, only ever harder this time, drawing some energon. “What? If he doesn’t know, he really should.”

“What? ‘Deadlock is’ what?” Beachcomber asked, getting annoyed.

*Chirp*

“What the frag do you mean?” Skywarp questioned his pet only to receive more chirps from it. “Oh, I get it,” he said, rubbing his chin.

“Oh, what is it now?” the geologist questioned them.

“Look, I’ll get back to you on it. I need to talk to someone, preferably Jazz, about something,” Skywarp told him.

“What the hell do you mean? And how the hell do you understand Laserbeak so well?” Beachcomber asked him.

“For the former, can’t tell you. For the latter, owner-to-pet connector and translator,” Skywarp told him, tapping Laserbeak's head. “Minicons like Laserbeak can form connections with their owners to be able to communicate with them properly. It isn’t perfect, but it forms lines of communication. If you’re paying attention, you can understand some of what he says, despite not being an owner.”

“Huh, never knew that, but seriously, what are you keeping from me?” he asked, indignant.

“You might want to ask your fellow Autobots the same question,” Skywarp told him before walking over to him and pushing him out. “Now scram. Get some recharge or something. I gotta finish this effigy of Soundwave for the festival tomorrow and Laserbeak is a fragging critic.” Beachcomber tried to respond, but Skywarp forced him out and shut the door on him before he could do so. For good measure, he locked the door so that Beachcomber couldn’t get back in. With the annoyance out of his way, he went back to work on the Soundwave effigy. “So, how do you think he’ll react to Drift being Deadlock?”

*Chirp*

“Yeah, I bet. He’ll be mad.”

* * *

 

“Hmm, staying up this late is quite the challenge,” Bludgeon murmured to Nautilator as he sat by his comatose friend. He had been sitting there all throughout the night, using energon and energy boosters to keep himself up. He wasn’t one for pulling all-nighters, especially to simply keep up and talk to someone who wouldn’t respond. The last time he did something like this was, well, the day that Jhiaxus died. “Let me tell you something, Nautilator.”

* * *

 

_Bludgeoned groaned as he woke up in an escaped pod bathe in a dark, red light. He felt a massive headache, feeling like there was a percussion players ensemble, playing a concert in his head. His limbs were aching and he could tell one of the struts were out of place, specifically the one in his upper left arm. This was probably because he wasn’t properly strapped inside the escape pod and when it hit the ground, he was thrown against the  wall of the escape pod, breaking his arm, as well as bashing his head against the wall too, knocking him out. He could tell it was a bad blow, because he felt energon trickling down his head. This was going to take a while to heal. To go along with that, there was a smell of a thruster fuel permeated the air, an indication that things were about to get a bit explosive  
_

_Of course, there was the question of why he was in this position. The blow to his head made his mind a bit scatterbrain, even though he knew he had to get out. ‘Why am I like this?’ Bludgeon muttered as he disengaged himself from the seat, making him fall to the ground with a short yelp. Apparently, he was upside down as well. He picked himself off the ground with a pained groan and made his way to one of the exits. He pulled the lever and the door automatically separated to darkness. He didn’t hesitate to jump out and briefly rolled down a slight incline before stopping. It was a good thing, as the escape pod exploded, letting Bludgeon get licked by the flames, but not hit him._

_With the immediate danger taken care of, Bludgeon finally took the time to think of what happened. He was in an escaped pod, which meant that he was probably escaping from a life or death situation. The question was what? He felt images enter his mind. Jhiaxus barking orders. Annihilation generator. Test subjects. Reactive armor. Explosions. Autobots attacking the station. Annihilation generator about to overload. Escape. Escape without-_

_“NO!” Bludgeon yelled as he picked himself up and looked around. The area was bathe an oppressive blackness, only lit up by the fires of the escape pod. From what he could tell, the place he crashed in was a valley with the ground rising and descending at many points. It was a dead zone. Cybertron has always been like this since the war basically reduced it to a dead world. Not much to live on. One look around could tell that there wasn’t anything alive around the area. It was only him and no one else._

_“Jhiaxus!” Bludgeon yelled into the night. There was only one escape pod. If he was in it, then Jhiaxus had to be in it as well. He just had to be. Because the worst-case scenario was unthinkable. That couldn’t have happened. He yelled his master's name again as he started to search around for any trace of the scientist. Jhiaxus wasn’t inside the escape pod. That meant he had to be around the area somewhere. He kept his effort up as he walked around the area, not daring to get too far away from the escape pod as he would be away from his only source of light. As he did so, more memories came to him. Explosions. Depressurization. Fighting Jazz. Getting separated from Jhiaxus._

_Bludgeon collapsed to his knees as he realized what happened. An explosion caused debris to get in between him and Jhaxius just as they reached the escape pod. There was only one way in and that’s it. Bludgeon was with the escape pods. Jhaxius was not. Bludgeon might’ve been able to break through the debris. He could’ve done something to save him as he was screaming at him.  The place was going to explode. Bludgeon took the escape pod out alone, with no one with him. He didn’t want to die like this._

_“Jhiaxus, I’m sorry,” Bludgeon apologized to the air. “I should’ve stay. We would’ve died together or I could’ve done something to save you. If you can hear this, I’m sorry I failed you. Please, forgive me. If you do, please give me a sign.” As he knelt there, the flames died down, leaving him in the dark. Now, all he could hear was the sound of silence. “I understand. I don’t deserve forgiveness.”_

* * *

 

“I still haven’t received a sign. I understand. Jhiaxus could be unforgiving,” Bludgeon told Nautilator, who didn’t react at all to his story, as expected. “I still wonder why I left him behind instead of helping him. I didn’t even attempt to save him. The ship exploded around ten minutes after the escape and it was a big one. Annihilation generators causes quite a spectacle. Either way, he’s dead.”

“Huh, what a coward you turned out to be.” Bludgeon flicked his head over to see Hound looking up at him from his berth. “Leaving him to die while you got out squeaky clean. Some bodyguard you turned out to be.”

“Hmph, guess so,” Bludgeon muttered before turning back to Nautilator, earning a strange look from Hound.

“Hey, I just called you a coward and that’s all you have to say?” he asked.

“Why argue against the truth?” Bludgeon questioned him. “I was afraid to die. Because of that, I left Jhiaxus to die.” The two were quiet briefly before Hound spoke up again.

“Huh, at least you’re honest about it, unlike Bumblebee,” Hound muttered as he looked backed up the ceiling.

“The scout? What do you mean?”

“Can’t speak about it. Optimus’s order. Let’s just say that it involves Devola,” he said with disgust. “What a clusterfuck that mess was.”

“What do you mean? What is Devola?” Bludgeoned questioned.

“A lie,” Hound responded, confusing him. “We were given orders to report it as a resounding success, when it wasn’t. That’s all I can say.”

“That’s all you can say? Why?”

“Orders, of course, from the trifecta of Optimus, Jazz, and Prowl. I’m not risking pissing the three of them off,” he explained to him and Bludgeon understood.

“The three heading the Autobots gave you the order. I think I understand now,” Bludgeon nodded.

“Exactly. If all three of them are giving orders to not talk about it, then don’t speak about it, especially since Prowl is in agreement with them,” Hound muttered with disdain. “If all three can agree on something, than it’s set in stone.”

“So, you won’t explain what happened with this Devola?” the metallikato asked, annoyed.

“Of course not. I’m not risking Jazz getting on my aft and I’m especially not risking Prowl knowing about me spilling the info. That guy does some shady shit,” Hound told him. “Anyway, just forget about it. You’re not getting information about it from me. If you want info about it, talk to Bumblebee or Drift, as they were both on the operation, but they both wanna forget about it. Jazz too, but he’ll only talk about it if he has to, as we saw in the third trial. Guy is a secretive bastard.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Bludgeon agreed as he turned back to Nautilator.

*Ding* *Dong*

“This is an announcement. It is now 7AM. Have a wonderful day.”

“Hmm, almost time for the festival,” Bludgeon muttered.

“Festival?” Hound asked.

“We’ll be burning effigies today, in honor of our fallen comrades during our time in this nightmare. It’s also when I’ll burn an effigy of Jhiaxus,” Bludgeon explained to him.

“What the hell are you doing that?” Hound asked.

“To inspire unity. We don’t want any more causalities here,” Bludgeon explained to him.

“Of course,” he nodded. “However, I wouldn’t mind getting rid of some of the more problematic individuals.”

“Now is not the time. There’s is still the danger of the mastermind. I rather take care of him before we do anything else and this is what we need to keep it,” Bludgeon told him, turning around to face Hound. “Don’t plan anything.”

“Don’t plan to. I couldn’t hurt Rewind like that,” the preservationist told him. “Just saying I wouldn’t mind it.”

“Hmph, that better be all it is,” he warned. “The last thing we need is another murder.”

“I promise. Besides, I’m still a wreck after the bomb,” Hound told him.

“Indeed you are. You’re not in the best of shape.”

“Yeah. Speaking of, think you can get me some painkillers? Still in quite a bit of pain, you know,” he questioned him and Bludgeon glared at him for that.

“If you want. I find it weak of you, but I understand that everyone can’t accept the pain,” Bludgeon said as he got up.

“Yeah, yeah, just quit being a stoic badass and get me my meds.”  


	84. Chapter 6: Coward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this took too long to update, but I got busy, especially since college this semester is looking like an extremely busy one. I'll try and update this more often, but no promise.

At 7:30, everyone met at the lunchroom, minus Bludgeon, Nautilator, and Hound, and were discussing the ceremony today. “So, when shall we do the festival for the dead?” Blurr asked everyone.

“I say we do it at nighttime. Makes the fires burn brighter,” Skywarp recommended.

“It’s really inconsequential,” Perceptor mentioned. “We can modify the time of the VOF to anything we want.”

“We should still wait until nighttime so that we can give Nautilator a chance to wake up from his coma,” Onslaught recommended to them.

“The poor guy,” Beachcomber muttered. “Do you know if he will ever wake up, Knock Out?”

“It all depends on him, although I’ll hedge my bets on him waking up soon. Vital signs are stable, after all. I just think it’s the drugs preventing him from waking up,” Knock Out explained to everyone.

“So you believe he’ll wake up today?” Jazz questioned him.

“I believe so, yes, but don’t get mad at me if he doesn’t. I can only give my best assessment over the matter,” Knock Out informed them. “I don’t have anyone to bounce hypothesis and diagnosis off of now, so this is as good of a guess as I can give.”

“Yeah, without Ratchet, we’re left with just you,” Mixmaster muttered.

“And me, but I’m still in training,” Scavenger muttered quietly.

“So, you guys wanna meet up at the VOF at around 9PM?” Jazz questioned everyone.

“Sounds reasonable,” Hoist agreed.

“Agree,” Rewind nodded.

“And I really don’t care,” Smokescreen told them.

“No one asked you,” Swindle told him and the gambler shrugged at that, angering the merchant.

“It’ll work. Nothing else needs to be said,” Perceptor broke in between them.

“How good of you to talk, last remaining mole suspect,” Smokescreen mentioned.

“Huh?” Perceptor gasped as the others listen.

“Oh, you think I forgot? There were six possible suspects for the mole. I know all of you are suspicious of me because, well, _serial killer_ , but don’t forget about the mole. I was on it, but it can’t be me. Chromedome, Mirage, Nightbeat, and Ratchet are all dead, so that leaves one person left. Care to take a guess who it is?” Smokescreen questioned everyone and Perceptor clenched his fists.

“It’s not me,” Perceptor immediately said.

“There are two possible results here. 1. You’re the mole. 2. The mole is dead. There isn’t any other choice here,” he told him.

“We both know how I’ll answer.”

“Unfortunately, yes, which means we’re at an impasse,” Smokescreen nodded. “What shall we do, because trusting you will mean doubting the dead and vice versa.”

“All I know is that Chromedome isn’t the mole, so don’t you dare blame him,” Rewind immediately said.

“Neither is Ratchet. Anyone say otherwise and expect my blade at your throat,” Drift told everyone.

“Nightbeat was too helpful to be a mole,” Skywarp responded.

“I don’t believe Mirage would’ve acted as he did if he was the mole,” Hoist told everyone.

“My, oh my, so we have plenty of people ready to defend the dead, so anyone want to defend Perceptor?” Smokescreen asked.

“I don’t think he do it,” Wildrider answered. “There, happy?”

“Well, Perceptor has one questionable defender. How nice,” Smokescreen noted sarcastically.

“Enough!” Onslaught yelled. “Today is not a day of suspicion. Today is a day of mourning. We’ll worry about who is and who isn’t the mole tomorrow.”

“Agreed,” Jazz nodded. “We shouldn’t worry about it just yet. Perceptor, as the last possible living candidate for the mole, is something of note, but we’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

“It’s pointless, but go ahead. I’m not the mole,” Perceptor told them. “The mole has to be dead now. We’re being paranoid for no good reason.”

“The dead have defenders, Perceptor, and they disagree with that claim,” Smokescreen told him with a wry grin, his head in his hand. “You can’t make that claim without evidence.”

“Then we’ll find some. There has to be evidence somewhere to ascertain their identity,” the scientist continued to defend himself.

“I hope so, but we’ll interrogate you as well tomorrow,” Jazz told him.

“Understood. Never been in a situation like this before, but I understand the necessity,” he agreed.

“Alright. Let’s go. We can do whatever we want during this time just make sure to meet up at the middle of the racetrack,” Jazz told them as they set out.

* * *

 

“Smokescreen drives me mad,” Swindle told Onslaught as they hung out at the lounge together with a glass of low-grade in each of their hands. “What the frag is he getting on about?”

“As much as I distaste him, I reluctantly agree with him about his logic. There is only one living suspect for the mole with his reveal as the serial killer,” Onslaught told him.

“Ugh… I know,” Swindle admitted. “I’m letting the sting from his betrayal get to me.”

“I always told you he was a bad influence. I never knew why I felt that way, but now we know why,” his commander told him.

“Yeah, you did. I should’ve listen, but I knew him longer than you and I thought he could be trusted,” Swindle said guiltily.

“It happens. Trust is a fragile thing and easy to exploit,” Onslaught told him.

“Yeah, well… screw him! Today isn’t about that fragger. It’s about our gestaltmates,” Swindle told him as he offer his glass to clink together.

“It is,” Onslaught said as the two clinked their glasses together and downed the contents before sighing in relief. “We shall honor them and then tomorrow, we’ll hunt the mastermind down and kill them.”

"I'm all for it." 

* * *

 

“Do you honestly trust me?” Perceptor questioned Wildrider as they were at the lab.

“Duh. Of course I do,” Wildrider told him with his arms crossed and a confident smile.

“Why specifically do you trust me?” Perceptor questioned him.

“Reasons,” he shrugged. “Calm down. I trust you and that’s all you need to know.”

“I hate being left in the dark… but I’ll take the support I can get. No one’s willing to accuse the dead of being the mole, so they’re leaving me to take the fall for a crime that I did not commit,” Perceptor told him as he leaned against the table, worried. “I’ve noticed the stares at me. The look of suspicion. It started with Hoist. Whenever we were in the same room, he was always looking at me suspiciously. I never knew why until Monobear explained it. Now, everyone is keeping their optics on me and I’m worried one of them might try to ensure there isn’t a mole.

“What are you… ohhhhhh,” Wildrider moaned in realization. “Wait, you really think one of them is going to murder you because of the possibility you’re a mole?”

“We’re desperate, Wildrider. Everyone’s trying to avoid that fact, but it’s true. Ten of us are dead. A full third. Those are some worrying statistics,” Perceptor reminded him.

“Ha,” Wildrider scoffed. “Those are just statistics and you know what they say: lies, damn lies, and statistics.”

“Where did you get that phrase from?” Perceptor questioned, turning to look at him.

“Dead End has some Earth literature. He sometimes try to explain them to me, but I don’t really get most of it, but some of those phrases sure are catchy,” Wildrider told him.

“Hmph. Speaking of Dead End, how is he doing?” Perceptor questioned him.

“Well… not good,” Wildrider admitted. “Chopping off your arm in a highly convoluted suicide attempt is not good for one’s sanity, especially when placed in a high stress situation like this.”

“What an… astute observation,” Perceptor muttered.

“What? I can say smart things, too,” Wildrider told him as he went over and wrapped an arm around him. “I’m around a lot of smart people. It’s only natural I learn a few things.”

“True, you do. Sorry for doubting your intelligence,” Perceptor apologize.

“Thanks,” Wildrider said with a smile.

“Welcome. Sanity is still questionable, though.”

* * *

 

“Come with me,” Knock Out ordered Hoist as he dragged him into the upgrades store at the mall.

“Woah!” Hoist yelled before the two were in the store together in private. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Something I should’ve done earlier and that’s talk to you about Perceptor,” Knock Out said and the repairer immediately groaned at that.

“What could you want to know? He’s the only living mole suspect left and that’s all you really need to know,” he said to the doctor.

“Is that all you got? I know that you’ve had to be following him for quite a while,” Knock Out told him.

“Yeah, I have, but I haven’t found anything to point out Perceptor as the mole,” Hoist told him.

“Are you kidding? Then why did that damn AI lead me to you?” Knock Out wondered.

“The AI has been talking to you too?” Hoist asked, interested.

“More like sending me messages- wait! He’s been talking to you?” Knock Out asked with his arms crossed.

“Well… yes, although I think it’s more like threatening me into investigating who the mole is,” Hoist told him.

“Threaten you?” Knock Out asked, shocked. “Why would he do that?”

“He’s worried about Perceptor being the mole and exposing him as an AI to the master,” Hoist told him.

“He is? So… he’s on our side?” Knock Out questioned him.

“In regards to the mole, I believe so. I don’t think he would betray his master if he could, but he rather not risk the mole exposing him as an AI to the mastermind,” Hoist confirmed to him.

“Well then, that’s something,” Knock Out muttered, crossing his arms. “Now, how do we use this information to our advantage?”

“I don’t know, but keep your optics on in search of any info for who the mole is, alive or dead,” Hoist said as he exited the room.

“Hmph. Better said than done.”

* * *

 

“I’m so worried, Mixmaster,” Scavenger told his gestaltmate in the courtyard of the mall as they were seating next to each other. Mixmaster was looking through a datapad of chemical formulas while Scavenger was eating _many_ oil balls to calm his nerves.

“There are many reasons to be worried, Scavenger. What’s going through your mind?” Mixmaster questioned him, taking his optics off his datapad to look at him.

“Where to start? Well, we can start with the fact Smokescreen is still walking and skulking about, the fragging slagger,” Scavenger told him. “He damn near kill me earlier and he’s a serial killer! He’s fragging scary.”

“No kidding. Once we’re out of here, I’ll make sure he’ll pay,” Mixmaster assured him.

“If we get out alive,” Scavenger said cynically as he ate another oil ball. “We’re always in danger here and anyone could betray us.”

“Scavenger, stop thinking that,” Mixmaster ordered. “We can’t let paranoia override our senses.”

“Can you blame me? I mean, we don’t even have to do it knowingly, someone could trick us into killing someone, like what happened with Ratchet,” he told him and Mixmaster had to reluctantly agree with him about that. That was an unsettling possibility that could possibly happen. You can’t expect everyone to act rationally in a situation like this. He thought Dead End was rational, but he knew now that was just a pastiche. Same for Smokescreen. They were both dangerous individuals to have around.

“We will have to be more careful, especially around Dead End and Smokescreen. Both of them are complete wildcards,” Mixmaster told him.

“Not to mention we don’t know the intention of everyone else here. We don’t know what they’re thinking. The person we’re talking to could be planning to murder us,” Scavenger said nervously.

“Scavenger,” Mixmaster said as he wrapped an arm around his nervous gestaltmate, “calm down. Remember, paranoia is our worst enemy here. We have to trust with them, with a healthy amount of skepticism.”

“But… I’m so scared. I’m so scared for me and especially for you,” Scavenger told him.

“For me? Scavenger, you shouldn’t-”

“Ratchet said he was going to help me. I wanted him to so much, but… he’s dead now,” Scavenger said as he held onto Mixmaster. “He was going to help my memory problems and make me more skilled. I could actually help.”

“Scavenger, you have help. You’ve always have,” Mixmaster reassured him as he tighten his grip on him. “And no one will hurt you.”

“And if anyone hurts you, I’ll make them pay,” Scavenger said as he tighten his grip greatly. “I… I don’t know what it would be like living here without you, Mixmaster. Not having the rest of the gestalt is already driving me mad, but without you… I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“Hey, come on, Scavenger, you won’t ever be without me, you understand?” Mixmaster told him, feeling unsettled by him. Scavenger can be a bit unhinged at times, even if he always tries to hide it. Hook probably didn’t help matters.

“You promise?” Scavenger asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Mixmaster smiled at him. “I’ll always be by your side.”

* * *

 

“Oh, hey Drift,” Bumblebee greeted him at the bar. Bumblebee was drinking some flavored energon and Drift sat down and ordered the same thing as him, which the monochromatic bartender provided.

“Hey,” he muttered as he took a drink.

“So, what have you been doing?” Bumblebee questioned him.

“Katas. I need to make sure that I’m capable of fighting again and it helps me… forget about certain things. I’m just taking a small break,” he told him as he took another drink.

“Huh-huh,” Bumblebee muttered as he took a gulp of his drink before speaking again. “Are you… okay?”

“Why do you ask?” Drift asked him.

“Well, we haven’t talk much, you know, after… Devola and Ratchet’s death may have triggered memories.”

“We don’t speak about that,” Drift immediately shot him down. “Orders.”

“Yeah, I know, but I can’t help thinking about that, you know,” Bumblebee told him.

“You shouldn’t. It was mostly your fault, you know,” he continued.

“I know. Because of my cowardice, Crosshairs….” Bumblebee shuddered as he thought about it. “I can’t believe he was still alive when we found him.”

“Is he really alive?” Drift questioned him. “Can we call that broken husk of a mech Crosshairs anymore?”

“I-I… ask Rung for updates about him. He tries to keep quiet about it. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all that, but he has told me he has been getting better,” Bumblebee told him.

“Do you still think he’s better now, with all the implications that’s been happening outside?” he pointed out. “All signs seem to indicate that the world outside isn’t what we remember it to be.”

“I… I hope so,” Bumblebee muttered. “I was such a coward. I could’ve save him. Could’ve prevented all that misery if I was just brave enough.” The scout finished off his glass of energon before talking to the bartender again. “Bartender. Iacon Wasteland. Please,” Bumblebee told him. It wasn’t long before he got it and started drinking from it heavily, which Drift noticed.

“Sure hitting that hard,” he stated before taking another drink from his glass.

“Yeah,” Bumblebee said, his voice sounding a bit guilty. “I get like this whenever I think about it. That horrible event,” he admitted to him. “I wish… I wish Optimus, Prowl, and Jazz didn’t cover it up. I came out of that looking like a hero when I should’ve been labeled as nothing but a coward.”

“I wish they tell the truth too, as I held some of the blame as well. Not as much as you, but I definitely failed Crosshairs,” Drift admitted.

“We all did,” Bumblebee muttered as he took the picture out to look at it. “You know, some days… I just pretend that the false reports of that day were true. I get to be a hero and save everyone. But that never happened. I didn’t save anyone,” he sobbed as he downed the glass. Drift looked at the picture. It was there first day together. Optimus stood in the center, mask-up, arms crossed, and standing proudly, as a typical leader. Bumblebee was crouched in front of him with a bright smile, waving at the camera. Drift stood to Optimus’s right with a sword impaled into the ground, his hands resting in top of the pommel, and attempting to stand regally, although he could not help but smirk as well. Hound stood next to Drift and had an arm wrapped around him with a thumbs-up at the camera. Crosshairs stood to the left of Optimus and was standing a bit away from the group, but he was still smirking wryly and waving at the camera with a submachine gun in each hand.

“I remember that,” Drift mentioned. “They used that to show how well we got along, not mentioning this was the first day. Things fell apart pretty quickly.”

“Yeah,” Bumblebee muttered. “No one mentioned that Crosshairs was in intensive care for ten years.”

“Had to keep up morale,” Drift told him. “Took him ten years just to move again. He’s still walks with a limp, even after they gave him new legs.”

“He’s seriously messed up,” Bumblebee muttered as he finished his glass. “If I had just…,” Bumblebee couldn’t finish his sentence as he grasped on to Drift and hugged him tightly. “Drift, I’m such a cowardly bastard,” he sobbed, shocking the swordsmech, but he wrapped an arm around him to comfort him. He remember Ratchet being fond of Bumblebee, even if he would not admit it, so maybe he could at least help him out a bit.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Drift muttered, warming up his own cold attitude. “Look, the situation was… dicey at best. Even if you helped Crosshairs, you risked the chance of being captured yourself. You can’t expect yourself to be able to save everyone you ever come across.”

“B-b-but… I didn’t even attempt to help him!” Bumblebee yelled at himself. “I’m such a coward.” Drift sighed before hugging him tightly.

“Bumblebee, what about all the other brave stuff you’ve done since Devola? It takes a brave mech to do those sort of things,” Drift told him.

“They don’t matter. Not with Crosshairs on my conscience,” he told him and Drift had to sigh at that. He was sympathetic to his situation. He has let events haunt him when they really should not, but Bumblebee’s obsession with it was disconcerting. Then again, Crosshairs sure has never forgotten about Devola.

“Bartender, Iacon Wasteland for both of us,” Drift ordered. Nothing better for forgetting one’s pain than drinking with a friend.


	85. Chapter 6: Waking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten about this story. :) I love it too much to abandon it, although these sorts of chapter come slow. My apologies.

“So, how am I, Doc?” Hound asked Knock Out as he was checking up on him.

“Doing find. Everything is checking out. You might be able to attend the ceremony today,” Knock Out said to him.

“Hey, that’s great!” Hound cheered. “I feel far too vulnerable laying on this slab.”

“With Bludgeon here, I don’t think you have much to worry about,” he remarked.

“Fair point. I don’t know anyone who would dare screw with him,” Hound agreed.

“Good that you think so,” Bludgeon said as he looked over to them. “I will not let harm come to anyone in here.”

“Good. We can’t afford any more deaths here,” Knock Out mentioned. “One was bad enough. Ten is a tragedy.”

“If we can’t figure out who the mastermind is and confront them, then it’s going to be one hell of a tragedy,” Hound said to them. “If we can’t do that or find a way out, then only one of us can survive.”

“We will find them and slaughter them,” Bludgeon said to him with an intense glare. “They will beg and plead with us not to kill them and we will refuse when we drive our blades into him.”

“I won’t argue against that,” Hound agreed. “Got to find the fucker first, wherever the hell he is in this academy. Hell, we don’t even know if he’s in the academy either. He could be controlling Monobear from somewhere else not in the building.”

“That is true,” Knock Out nodded. “We’ve haven’t even establish whether or not the person responsible is even in the building now.”

“I would imagine he would be in order to keep watch over us and act in person if he has too,” Bludgeon muttered. “Running this ‘game’ must be a complicated affair. He would want to watch over it himself and not leave it solely at the hands of the VI.”

“I sure wouldn’t,” Knock Out admitted. “If there are any malfunctions or anything like that, then he would have to be on hand to take care of it himself.”

“Exactly. They would have to be around to take care of any unexpected errors,” the metallikato expert said.

“Well then, we have to find them and kill them,” Hound stated. “He’s too dangerous to be left alive. The courts would be too good for him.”

“I like the way you’re thinking,” Knock Out remarked with a grin.

“Considering what we’ve been through, it’s only appropriate we get our own revenge on them,” the Autobot remarked.

“Agreed,” Bludgeon said. “This being… they are made of pure malice. All they cares about is our suffering.”

“Indeed. The bear says he does all of this in the name of ‘despair,’ for whatever reasons,” Knock Out muttered. “He has a screwed-up line of logic and reasoning.”

“Very much so. He is… hmm?” Bludgeon hummed as he looked to Nautilator as he started mumbling. “Nautilator?” he asked as he got next to him with Knock Out hurrying next to him.

“B-B-Bludg-eeon?” Nautilator said weakly as his red optics online and he looked around.

“I’m here,” Bludgeon said as he crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his head to ease him.

“H-h-hey,” Nautilator said to him as he gave a faint smile.

“Hmph… greetings to you as well,” Bludgeon greeted him with a relieved smile on his own, which Nautilator noticed.

“H-hey… you’re smiling,” the (un)luckster stated,

“I… I am?” the metallikato expert stated.

“It’s… kind of scary,” Nautilator told him, a little scared. “It looks like you’re about to eat me...” Bludgeon’s smiled changed to a glare.

“Very well… I agree,” Bludgeon said with a nod to him. ‘My face is not a kind one…’

“You appear to be in good health,” Knock Out said as he looked at the monitor Nautilator was hooked to. “All the stats are normal, although you sound like very weak. Do you need some energon?”

“Yes… please,” Nautilator moaned.

“I shall get you some,” Bludgeon told him. “Please stay awake.”

“I will. I’m just… so tired,” the Seacon told him.

“I’ll be back soon,” Bludgeon said before sprinting out of the room as fast as possible, leaving the three behind.

“Guys. What… day is it?” Nautilator asked them.

“Day 20,” Knock Out informed him.

“Twenty? It was day… 16 when I was knocked out,” Nautilator gasped.

“Yes, it was… and two more died,” Knock Out told him wistfully.

“What? Who?” Nautilator asked.

“Blast Off and Ratchet,” Knock Out said, looking away.

“Oh, I’m… I’m sorry,” Nautilator told him. “I know you and him were close.”

“Yes, we were…,” Knock Out sighed as finally looked the other two in the room over.

“What happen to you two?” Nautilator asked them.

“A bomb is what happened,” Hound grumbled.

“Bomb?!” Nautilator asked, scared.

“Yes. The bomb was planted by Smokescreen and hit several people, me included,” Knock Out informed him.

“But… he’s still alive, right?” Nautilator asked him.

“That’s right. You can blame Dead End’s machinations for that,” Hound said bitterly.

“The bomb had Blast Off at the apex of the explosion. When they took him to the Med-bay, Ratchet administered a syringe full of anesthesia to him. What he didn’t know was that Dead End mixed one with acid in it and when Ratchet used it, he sent acid into Blast Off’s body and killed him. Ratchet managed to figure out Dead End’s trick and sacrifice himself to save us,” Knock Out informed him of the details.

“That’s… that’s screwed up,” Nautilator said in disbelief.

“No shit,” Hound growled. “Even worse, Smokescreen admitted that he was the serial killer in Scavenger’s secret and was the one who attacked him several days ago.”

“Seriously?!” Nautilator yelled, shocked. “How… how can he do such things?”

“Cybertronians varied in many ways in their motive and morality. It’s no surprise. It’s only a surprise if they’re good liars, which Smokescreen is,” the doctor stated. “He’s a natural and can fake being a normal, moral person very well.”

“But not anymore,” Hound stated. “We know who he is now and we won’t let anymore not know about his true nature now.”

“I hope so. We can’t let him get away,” Nautilator agreed.

“He’s the one responsible for Blast Off and, loosely, Ratchet’s death. We can’t let him hurt any more people,” Knock Out agreed. “We’re trying to build a normal society again. We can’t let it fall into decay again.”

“Agreed. We can’t let Smokescreen live, but we have to wait until we’re out of this situation. If we kill him now, one of us will be executed for it,” Hound stated.

“Killing him does seem like the best solution, but the higher ups would probably disagree with that decision,” Knock Out muttered. “Probably recommend Dead End and Smokescreen get locked up with a therapist to help their mental instabilities.”

“We can’t let that happen,” Hound stated. “We have to kill them. Can’t let them hurt anyone else.”

“Might be the best solution,” Nautilator agreed. “I don’t trust either of them very well… although I think I had fun getting over-energized with Dead End.”

“Yeah… you two were pretty wasted,” Hound chuckled as they heard the door opening and Bludgeon came on in with a whole jug of energon that he was carrying with both of his hands.

“I’m back,” Bludgeon said as he went over to Nautilator, who looked shock.

“That’s… a big jug,” Nautilator said as the metallikato expert stood next to him.

“You need it,” Bludgeon told him as he uncapped the jug. “Sit up straight and I’ll help you drink it.”

“Cold you help me?” Nautilator asked him and Bludgeon looked to Knock Out.

“Alright, I’ll help him out,” the doctor agreed as he went over to the unlucky mech and grabbed him by the shoulders before helping to lift him up slowly until he was sitting up almost straight.

“Good, now slide your faceplate back and open your mouth,” Bludgeon ordered and Nautilator did so. Bludgeon brought the rim of the opening to Nautilator’s mouth and slowly tipped it over to pour the energon into his mouth slowly. Nautilator gladly gulped the energon down, letting the liquid revitalize his weak body.

“Oh… feels so good,” Nautilator said between gulps.

“I imagine it does,” Bludgeon nodded as he continued to feed him. “You haven’t had any in a while.” Nautilator nods along with him as he swallows some more of the energon until a quarter of it was consumed.

“Oh… that feels so good,” Nautilator said to him.

“Do you think you will be capable of walking tonight?” Bludgeon asked him.

“Yeah… I think so,” he answered.

“I’ll be the decider of that,” Knock Out stated. “He’s not leaving without a doctor’s approval.”

“Understood,” Bludgeon nodded. “I do not wish for any adverse effects for Nautilator.”

“I’ll make sure everything is fine,” Knock Out assured him. “If Nautilator is ready to walk, I’ll let him join us at the ceremony today.”

“Ceremony?” Nautilator asked.

“Yes. We’ll be burning effigies of the ones that have fallen tonight at the VOF,” Bludgeon informed Nautilator. “Morale is low and we’re doing whatever we can to raise it. We hope to decrease the paranoia and murderous intent against everyone but the mastermind.”

“Do you think it will help?” his friend asked him.

“I… I don’t know, but it would put me a bit at ease,” Bludgeon told him as he patted his leg. “I need something to calm me down.”

“Well, I think I need something to calm me down as well now,” Nautilator complained as he laid back on the berth. “Seriously, I’ve learned way too much in way too short of a time.”

“Indeed. You should just lay here for a bit and relax,” Bludgeon told him. “I’ll inform everyone today of your recovery.”

“Good idea,” Nautilator nodded as he held the jug of energon close to him. “Just leave me with the energon and I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll keep watch over him,” Knock Out stated to Bludgeon with a pat on Nautilator’s head. “He’ll be fine under my care.”

“I shall trust you with this duty, Knock Out,” Bludgeon confirmed to him. “Watch over him until it’s time for the ceremony.”

“Understood,” he nodded and Bludgeon gave a grunt of approval before turning to Nautilator again. “Take care, Nautilator. I’ll be back soon.”

“See ya,” Nautilator waved him off and Bludgeon nodded before heading out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. The ceremony should take place next chapter and then we can start having some fun.


	86. Chapter 6: Purpose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back to writing now. :) I've been a lazy bum.

“Nautilator is awake?” Jazz asked, happily surprised as most of the group met back up in the cafeteria. The only ones who weren’t in attendance were Knock Out, Nautilator, Hound, Drift, Bumblebee, and Dead End.

“Indeed, he is,” Bludgeon nodded to them. “Knock Out said he should be good for attending the ceremony.”

“That’s good to hear,” Perceptor nodded. “How did he take the news of Ratchet’s and Blast Off’s demise?”

“He was shock, as we all were, however, he’s taking it well,” Bludgeon informed him. “He has also been informed of Smokescreen’s and Dead End’s betrayals. He is not please.”

“A betrayal? That’s a bit harsh,” Smokescreen commented with a sly grin, which earned a fierce glare from Bludgeon in return.

“You are despicable,” the metallikato expert said to the gambler.

“I’m starting to like those comments,” Smokescreen smiled at him.

“Shut it,” Swindle warned him with a glare of his own and Onslaught backing him with his too.

“Whatever,” Smokescreen scoffed as he looked away.

“So,” Jazz cut in, hoping to get back on track, “meeting at the VOF at 9PM is still on, right?”

“Of course. I think that will be enough time for Nautilator to feel better and to start walking again,” Bludgeon told him.

 “It still seems entirely reasonable,” Mixmaster agreed. “We should be ready to go for it.”

“I see no reason to halt proceedings,” Onslaught agreed.

“I like burning things,” Wildrider said with a wide smile, which made Perceptor cough awkwardly.

“That means he’s okay with it, as am I,” Perceptor told them.

“So no objections?” Jazz asked and no one said anything against it. “Good. Glad we can come to a consensus.”

“We’ve been good at coming to a consensus if it meant saving our lives,” Hoist remarked

.“That’s true…” Bludgeon agreed with him. “We’ve been fortunate for coming to the right conclusion these past few trials, especially the last one.”

“Yeah, we were lucky with that one,” Rewind agreed. “We were lucky to get through that alive.”

“Yes. Things are getting tense,” Perceptor agreed.

“Tell me about it,” Skywarp grumbled. “That fucking bear is insane for forcing us to kill each other.”

“I bet you he’ll make the argument that he’s not making us kill each other, he’s only _incentivizing_ us to kill each other,” Beachcomber remarked sarcastically. “That piece of shit.”

“He’s certainly a devious and uncouth individual,” Perceptor agreed. “He has successfully manipulated us into killing ten of our group.”

“And we hardly understand _why_ he’s doing this to us,” Smokescreen stated. “Even for me, I find his line of logic a bit nutty.”

“You’re easy. Simple greed and self-preservation,” the scientist replied back to him. “However, this bear… he does it all for despair?”

“It is certainly a strange reason,” Jazz agreed.

“I call it stupid,” Smokescreen said to them. “There’s no point in despair.”

“He would obviously disagree with you, that damn bear,” Onslaught cursed. “He obviously finds a purpose in it, no matter how insane it is.”

“Seriously, there must be something wrong in that head of whomever controlling the damn bear,” Swindle told him.

“Understatement of the year,” Smokescreen remarked. “Even you have to admit I have a better motive than that asshole.”

“You’re still one of the biggest assholes ever,” Swindle remarked. “It’s just that he managed to surpass you somehow and that is very disturbing.”

“This person controlling Monobear is obviously mentally ill,” Mixmaster commented.

“Whether he’s mentally ill or not is irrelevant. He forced us into this position. He must suffer for it,” Bludgeon told them. “They deserve no sympathy for forcing us into this plight.”

“Had no intention of giving them any. Being mentally ill does not mean one is predisposed to committing violent acts,” Mixmaster told him. “This, however, is a very extreme case.”

“Regardless, we can’t exactly let that mastermind live, right?” Beachcomber asked the group.

“Depends on what’s going on outside,” Jazz told him. “If everything’s fine, then we’ll just arrest him and sentence him.”

“And if it isn’t okay outside, we’ll take justice in our own hands,” Onslaught stated. “Vortex, Brawl, and Blast Off must be avenged.”

“As must everyone else,” Rewind stated. “I didn’t like everyone who has died, but they didn’t deserve death.”

“And we must save everyone else we care about,” Mixmaster said as he placed a hand on Scavenger’s shoulders. Scavenger looked back at him in surprised before nodding in agreement with him timidly.

“And we will,” Jazz said to him. “Now, I believe we’re done here, or at least I am. I’m heading on out.”

“As am I. I wish to make sure Nautilator is still fine,” Bludgeon told everyone.

“Guess we’re done here, then,” Onslaught said as he and his subordinate stood up. “Might as well take our leave.”

“Yeah, I’m going to see if Deady’s willing to come to the event as well,” Wildrider told them before turning to Perceptor. “Want to come with?”

“I might as well so you don’t cause trouble,” Perceptor agreed as he stood up.

“Alright, let’s go!” Wildrider yelled as he practically flew out of the room. Perceptor gave a sigh before following behind him. That gave people the go away to take their leave and spread out for the rest of the day until the ceremony.

* * *

 

Hoist hummed to himself as he worked in the Repair Bay on a datapad he broke and was fixing. He just wanted to spend time by himself. He did not want anyone near him. He didn’t exactly trust them to not betray him. He trusted Mirage and he was a killer. He trusted Smokescreen and he was a serial killer and a legitimate psychopath. He was not good at trusting one’s character, although Mirage was well-intentioned. He was an actual friend. Smokescreen on the other hand-

“Hey, Hoist! How are you doing?”

Speaking of the spawn of Unicron. “Smokescreen. What the hell do you want?” Hoist questioned him as he turned to see the gambler resting beside the behemoth, near where Mirage met his end.

“Just came to see how you’re doing. We are friends, after all,” Smokescreen insisted.

“You use me, you bastard!” Hoist said with a accusatory finger. “You made me check the stands so that I can send everyone over to the stands by the bomb!”

“Yeah, I sorta did that…” Smokescreen admitted. “A pragmatic choice on my part. The more people injured, the less I had to worry about investigators. It ended in failure, but you can’t blame me for trying.”

“Yes, I can, you psycho!” Hoist yelled at him. “You planted the bomb and you painted the false rust. It’s all your fault!”

“Hoist, this could’ve been avoided if you just examined the ‘rust’ more carefully and realize it was fake,” Smokescreen pointed out. “You just gave it the most cursory of examinations before okaying it. Why did you do that?”

“I… i-it looked like rust from a distance,” Hoist stated.

“Huh, you idiot,” Smokescreen insulted him. “You’re better than that. We BOTH know that,” he said to him. “You got lazy. Complacent. Never thought that rust could be part of a heinous plot to kill people.” Hoist looked crestfallen at that before looking away.

“No… I didn’t,” Hoist admitted, upset. “I screwed up. If I just looked at it a bit closer, I could’ve figured out the ruse you planted. But I didn’t. I got fooled by you. My friend. My enemy now.”

“I’m still not your enemy,” Smokescreen told him.

“Yes you are. You considered us your enemies,” Hoist told him.

“No, I didn’t. You are my friend. I’m just the type of friend who wouldn’t mind letting you die,” Smokescreen said to him.

“You’re a terrible friend,” Hoist said with a bitter, angry laugh. “Don’t need me to say that, but why should I consider you a friend now?”

“Well, you need someone,” the gambler laughed at him. “Admit it, you’re one lonely fucker. You can’t have no one watching your back.”

“And you wouldn’t hesitate to stab it,” the repairer pointed out.

“Yeah, but at this point, if I stab you in the back, I’ll be signing my own death warrant,” Smokescreen told him. “I want to work with you now, not against you.”

“So you say,” Hoist murmured. “You haven’t given me enough of a reason to trust you since you broke it.”

“True. All the trust I gained from the fourth trial is broken now. The only thing I can do is attempt to rebuild it with you, provided you let me,” Smokescreen said to him earnestly. “I’m being genuine for once.”

“I doubt that, but I think you do want to live and you understand that the only way to do so is to solely work with us for now on,” Hoist told him.

“Well, guess that’s a start,” Smokescreen said as he offered his hand to shake. “Deal?” Hoist looked at the hand before looking back at him and reluctantly shaking it roughly.

“Deal.”

* * *

 

“Oh. H-hey Rewind,” Jazz greeted Rewind outside of his door. “What do you need?”

“I want to know more about that datapad I saw. You know the one,” Rewind said to him and the spy sighed at that.

“Rewind… I honestly don’t know what to make of it myself,” Jazz told him. “Please, leave me alone to look at it by myself. I work better alone.”

“Jazz, please, I have to know,” Rewind said to him.

“And I will once I finish looking into it. I’m making as much progress as I can. I should be done soon,” Jazz assured him.

“But I want to know now! No, I have to know!” Rewind said to him.

“And you’ll know about it in due time,” Jazz assured him. “Just please, give me time. I’m still doing research so I know Chromedome’s full involvement in it.”

“Are you serious or just stalling to keep me from knowing what you know?” Rewind asked him. “You and Prowl always liked keeping secrets to yourself.”

“Don’t compare me to Prowl!” Jazz yelled back at him. “I’m different then that sociopath.”

“Then prove it!” Rewind said to him.

“Later!” Jazz yelled before slamming the door shut.

“Jazz!” Rewind yelled as he banged his fists against the door. “Let me in, you bastard!”

“Troubles?” he heard a voice on his left asked and turned to see Dead End standing there, a scowl on his face and his left arm still missing with a metal cap covering the stump.

“You can say that…” Rewind sighed. “You?”

“About the same. I’m still alive,” Dead End remarked.

“Why are you so insisted on dying? All it does it make everything worse,” Rewind growled to him. “If you weren’t suicidal, then Ratchet and possibly Blast Off would be alive.”

“I am well aware of that… it is honestly a shame. I intended for him getting out on the back of my death,” Dead End stated.

“As well as mine and the rest,” Rewind pointed out.

“Yes. Your life is as meaningless as mine,” Dead End said to him matter-of-factly.

“You’re such an idiot. All life is valuable,” Rewind told him as he stepped closer to the one-armed mech. “Why else do we exist?”

“We live to die,” Dead End told him. “I see nothing valuable in that.”

“We don’t live to die! We live to survive,” Rewind told him. “We live for the betterment of everyone around us. You only care for your own self-destruction.”

“According to you,” the poet cut in. “That may be your interpretation, but I find it the wrong one and you think yours is the right one, thus we are at a standstill.”

“Only because you’re an idiot,” Rewind said to him. “I’ve suffered and thought about suicide like you did, but now I don’t. You can do the same.”

“No, I can’t,” Dead End stated. “Your depression was temporary. Mine is permanent,” Dead End stated to him.

“No, it isn’t! You just have to be willing to face it,” Rewind encouraged him.

“There’s nothing to face. It’s only what I am,” Dead End stated as he turned. “I’m heading back to my room. Don’t you have a friend in need at the med-bay? I’m sure he would like you by his side or are you afraid to go see him?”

“I… he wants you dead,” Rewind stated bluntly.

“Does he now?” the cynic asked him.

“Yeah.”

“Hmph, tell him to knock on my door if he wants to do so,” Dead End said as he stated walking back to his room. “I’ll embrace the moment.”

“You can’t be serious,” the minibot stated.

“I am,” Dead End finished the conversation as he walked, leaving Rewind by himself again. The archivist gave a small sigh.

“This is too much…” he whispered before he started walking off in the other direction.

* * *

 

Literally five minutes later, Wildrider was knocking on Dead End’s door. “DEADY! Me and Perceptor went to the store and got you some fun stories!” Wildrider yelled out to him.

“These rooms are soundproof, Wildrider. Only knocking will get his attention,” Perceptor said as he held his head in an annoyed matter, the knocking and yelling annoying him

“Oh, shut up,” Wildrider said as he knocked even louder on the door. “DEADY! SPARKY! OPEN UP!”

“Sparky is not sentient…” Perceptor moaned. “He is a plushy.”

“No, he isn’t! I hear him talking to me when we’re alone…” Wildrider said fondly as he reminisces on it, weirding Perceptor out.

“You’re not serious… are you?” the scientist asked him.

“I am,” he stated seriously with a glare at the bot.

“Right… understood,” Perceptor said as the door opened.

“What have I done to earn this racket?” Dead End questioned them as he stood in the doorway.

“Deady!” Wildrider cheered as he turned back to him and gave him a big ugh,

“Guah! Stop hugging me, you oaf!” Dead End yelled at him. “You’re crushing my spinal strut!”

“Sorry!” Wildrider apologized as he pulled back and showed off a bag of datapads. “For you, a collection of stories and poems for your endearingly depressing spark.”

“I wouldn’t call it endearing,” Perceptor said behind Wildrider as Dead End grabbed the bag and began looking through the datapads.

“Let me see. ‘From the Well to the Pit,’ ‘Morphogenesis,’ ‘The Life of Sinners,’ ‘The Three-Dimensional Shadow,’ ‘Sadness…’ Quite a lot of interesting stories,” Dead End admitted.

“Thanks! Perceptor suggested a few of these, as you can probably tell. I have no idea what the frag morphogenesis is,” Wildrider told him.

“I’ll teach you about it later, if you want,” Perceptor said to him.

“Hmph, anyway, why are you here? It can’t be for just this,” Dead End said.

“We’re burning things!” Wildrider yelled at him.

“Uh-huh…” Dead End murmured before turning to Perceptor. “Translation?”

“We’ll be having a memorial today, burning effigies of the dead teachers plus Jhiaxus,” Perceptor told him.

“Really now? Interesting. I suppose everyone else is going,” Dead End guessed.

“Bingo!” his fellow Stunticon said. “We’ll all be there, even Nautilator.”

“Has he awaken from his coma?” Dead End questioned them.

“Just this morning,” Perceptor said to him. “Bludgeon filled us in on it at lunch.”

“Hmph… he’s got strength of will,” the poet admitted. “I’ll give him that.”

“Indeed he does,” Perceptor agreed. “Anyway, please consider coming to the ceremony. It’ll help comradery around here.”

“And I’ll knock on your door until you come if you don’t!” Wildrider yelled at him.

“Guess there’s no getting out of it,” the nihilist sighed. “Very well. I shall come.”

“Yay! Oh, and bring Sparky! He likes fire,” the manic told him.

“I’ll do it…” Dead End sighed, defeated.

“Very well. We’ll leave you alone for now,” Perceptor said to him.

“I would prefer forever, but… thanks for the datapads. It’s thoughtful of the two of you,” Dead End told them before closing the door.

“Whelp, I’ve done my good deed for the day,” Wildrider said as he put his hands to his hips and puffed his chest out with a smug grin.

“Indeed, you did,” Perceptor said with a pat on the shoulder. “Now, let’s go.”

* * *

 

“They’re drunk,” Swindle said to Onslaught as they observed Bumblebee and Drift drinking together with their arms over each other’s shoulders and talking loudly.

“Very drunk,” his gestaltmate agreed.

“Should we leave them alone?”

“They need to be sober enough to attain the ceremony,” Onslaught reminded him as he stepped towards the two. Swindle sighed before he followed behind him

“Great…” the salesmech muttered as they went over to the two, who were reminiscing about the past.

“And so I had to go NECK DEEP in enemy territory just to CONTACT base again after getting my head CRACKED in,” Bumblebee told Drift, awkwardly placing emphasis on certain words.

“Woah… what happened next?” Drift asked.

“What happens next is we take both of you to your rooms so that you can sober up for the ceremony today,” Onslaught said as he placed a hand on both of their shoulders.

“Get your hand off me, you damn dirty Con!” Drift cursed as he pushed the hand off. “I drink whenever I want.”

“YEAH! Like, LEAVE us aLONE,” Bumblebee told him.

“I swear, the way you’re stressing words and syllables is giving me a headache,” Swindle grumbled to them before going over to Bumblebee. “Come on, let’s get you out of here,” he ordered the yellow bot as he grabbed his hand.

“But, I don’t WANna…” Bumblebee whined as Onslaught struggled with Drift.

“You’re not taking me out alive!” Drift yelled at Onslaught as the stool started tipping over and yelled as he fell before going quiet as he hit his head on the bar counter before hitting the floor. “Ugh…” the drunk swordsmech moaned.

“Well… guess that works,” Onslaught said as he shrugged his shoulders as Swindle lifted Bumblebee away from the counter.

“Oh, COME ooooon… I want MORE!” Bumblebee yelled at him as they were lifted out of the bar.

“Want to let them nap in the rest area nearby?” Swindle asked him.

“Should be okay. We can watch them in there and make sure they sober up in time for the ceremony,” Onslaught said.

“Great. I don’t want to carry this drunk all the way to the next building,” Swindle told him. “Imagine if anybody sees them.”

“That would not be good,” his leader told him. “Alright, let’s let them rest.”

* * *

 

“Hey, uh, Knock Out,” Blurr greeted him in the med-bay as Bludgeon was right by Nautilator’s side and Hoist was taking a nap.

“Ah, Blurr, a pleasure to see you again after… what happened on the course,” Knock Out greeted him on the course.

“Yeah... that was not how I wanted our race to end,” Blurr said to him. “I wanted it to end with you a lap behind me, unable to keep up with my speed.”

“Oh, give me more credit than that. I was right on you when I crashed,” Knock Out told him. “I can give you a run for your money.”

“Yeah, well, we’re going to have to do it again, once we get a new racetrack,” Blurr said as he scratched the side of his head. “That damn bomb wrecked the track.”

“And was indirectly responsible for the deaths of Blast Off and Ratchet,” Knock Out reminded him.

“Yeah…,” the blue racer agreed as he leaned against an operating table. “Ratchet was a damn icon. Very few Autobots were as well known as him. Seeing him executed in such a brutal way… damn, I think it really showed that no one is safe.”

“Indeed it does. No one deserves to die in this damn game,” Knock Out sighed as he put a hand to his face. “Nor should they be scarred.”

“And yet, it happened to you,” Blurr sighed. “I’m sorry that it happened to you and I’m sorry for causing you to crash.”

“Don’t worry about it. We were so close, the bomb could’ve killed both of us,” Knock Out told him. “In hindsight, you making me crash saved both of us from death.”

“In exchange for Blast Off’s,” Blurr sighed. “I’m going to have to talk Swindle and Onslaught about this later.”

“Not now. Last thing they need is to be reminded of Blast Off’s death. Besides, I’m sure they’re suffering enough as is,” Knock Out explained to him.

“But, I want to apologize. I’m such a damn fuck-up. I just keep fucking things up for everyone unintentionally,” Blurr told him as he looked away. “Whether I’m a celebrity or a soldier, it doesn’t matter.”

“Hey, we all screw up. Trust me, you don’t become a medical officer without a few mistakes, sometimes fatal,” Knock Out tried to put him at ease with a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s all a part of being alive. We live to screw-up and we live to succeed. We just have to make sure we succeed more than we screw up.” Blurr looked up at the end of that before nodding.

“I guess that makes sense,” Blurr sighed.

“Look, everyone thinks we have a different purpose for living. Some think we live to die. Others think we live to survive. Others think like I do. It all depends on what the person thinks. Now, what do you think?” Knock Out asked him. Blurr gave another sigh at that as he racked his brain around that thought.

“I… I guess I live to fuck up,” Blurr said to him. “I mean, I’m not what you would call ‘smart.’ The only thing I’m good at is racing, fighting and bartending.”

“And looking damn good while doing it,” Knock Out remarked and Blurr had to chuckled at that.

“Yeah, I do look damn good too,” Blurr agreed. “Guess I got that going for me.”

“You underestimate yourself,” Knock Out said to him. “Guess you’re the opposite of me. I always overestimate myself. I mean, when you look as beautiful as I do, can you blame me?” he joked with a smile.

“Heh, not the prettiest one now. Going to have to settle for second,” Blurr mocked him.

“Oh, trust me, I’m trading beauty in for rugged handsomeness,” Knock Ou said as he showed himself off. “Don’t I look good?”

“Battle-harden,” Blurr remarked.

“Hmph. Accurate enough,” Knock Out remarked as he relaxed. “Either way, don’t think of yourself as just a screw-up. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s all about how you bounce back from them.”

“I don’t have a good track record,” Blurr remarked.

“Well, make it better,” Knock Out ordered. “Got it?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”


	87. Chapter 6: Always Rains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Thanks to all who are still reading this. A pleasure to up date this every time.

"Eight o'clock. Almost time for the memorial," Knock Out said as he looked to the clock in the Med-bay.

"Yes, it is," Bludgeon nodded as he looked to Nautilator. He was sitting on Nautilator's table right behind his head. "Will you be ready for the memorial at nine?"

"Y-yeah, I think so," the Seacon responded, "although I might need your help to move around."

"I can do that," the metallikato expert said with a pat on his shoulder. "I'll take you anywhere."

"Thank you," Nautilator said happily.

"Well, that's good," Knock Out said as he turned to Hound. "What about you?"

"The memorial, huh… everyone going to be there?" Hound asked him.

"We hope so."

"Well… I'll see if I can make it. If I have any trouble, you can help me there," the preservationist told him.

"I can do that."

"Good… I want to see Rewind again. He hasn't talk to me in a while," Hound told him.

"I'm aware of that. You two haven't talked in quite a while," Knock Out remarked. "Last time you two spoke was the day after the previous trial, correct?"

"Yeah… I really want to talk to him again," Hound murmured. "It's been so long. Days feel like years here."

"It is starting to feel like that," Knock Out agreed. "Especially since we don't know how long we've actually been here."

"Yeah… those datapads can't be fake, can they?" Hound asked him.

"If they faked them, then it's one elaborate lie," Knock Out remarked as he went to reclean some tools. "I mean, so many pictures and documents that never occurred is an amount of detail that seems unbelievable. Not to mention that there wouldn't be a purpose for it. Why do it? I don't think they would, so it has to be the truth."

"Which means, our memories are heavily censored," Bludgeon said. "The question is, how much?"

"That, I don't know. At the very least, we're missing a few years," Knock Out stated as he finished and put the tools back up.

"Hmm… what happened during that timespan?" Bludgeon wondered.

"Obviously, we were teachers. The pictures don't lie," Knock Out stated.

"You mean Bludgeon tolerated us for that long?" Hound asked as he looked to the large mech. "No offense, but you're not what I expect a teacher to be."

"Your critique is valid," Bludgeon acknowledged. "I myself don't consider myself capable of being a teacher, but maybe I was wrong."

"There is no shame in being wrong. I'm wrong all the time," Nautilator said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you're not very good at the trials," Hound remarked.

"Indeed. Him not being at trials probably helped moved it along," Knock Out commented.

"Indeed. For as much as I care for Nautilator, he does make a remarkable amount of factual errors," Bludgeon remarked.

"Okay, that wasn't an invitation to gang up on me," Nautilator told then seriously.

"Sorry, you left yourself open to that," Hound apologized to him.

"It's okay. I'm used to it," the seacon sighed. "I'm always the one people can make fun of with no consequences. Nobody cared about me."

"All I remember is how much I have to fix you when you inevitably hurt yourself," Knock Out remarked. "I saw you with an alarming regularity."

"Yeah, sorry. I know I'm always taking time out of your day to help me," Nautilator told him.

"It's my job. It's what I do," Knock Out scoffed. "You don't have to apologized for making me do my job."

"Right, sorry… I apologized too much, don't I?" Nautilator asked in an embarrassed tone.

"Yes, you do," Bludgeon said with a disappointed sigh before patting the (un)luckster. "Work on that."

"Yeah, I think I can do it," Nautilator nodded.

"Right… guess we should get these guys over to the racetrack," Knock Out stated. "Might take a while to transport them there."

"I'll comply as best as I can, Knock Out," Hound said as he forced himself on his elbows to get himself into a sitting up position. "Ready to get the hell off this damn table."

"Yes, I believe it is about time for you to get off that slab," the red mech agreed as he came over to him. "Hmm… Bludgeon."

"Yes?"

"Can we be more practical? Nautilator is a lot lighter than Hound, so he be easier for me to help him," Knock Out told him.

"Would that be find with you?" Bludgeon asked his friend.

"Yeah, sure. No problem," Nautilator agreed.

"Alright, let's get going."

* * *

"Ugh," Bumblebee and Drift groaned as Onslaught and Swindle stood at a distance.

"Purging is not pretty," Swindle remarked.

"It sure isn't," Onslaught agreed.

"Someone's going to have to clean it, but it ain't going to be us," Swindle remarked.

"Yeah… but we're going to have to clean them before the memorial," Onslaught remarked. Indeed, while purging the contents they drank up, they got quite a bit of their bile on themselves, as well as on the floor and the benches in the room.

"Yeah… they don't look very representable," Swindle agreed. "We'll have to take them back to the dorms and clean them up before it begins."

"Yeah… hopefully, they're a lot more sober now and we can move them with a lot less resistance this time," his leader said.

"If not, we can always punch them to unconsciousness and carry them over," Swindle remarked with a grin.

"We could," Onslaught said with a actual chuckle. "A little one-two and they be down for the count."

"I'm sure Brawl would appreciate it," Swindle remarks as he thinks. "I remember he did that to me once. Woke up with a splitting headache and energon dripping down the side of my head."

"Yes, I remember that. According to Brawl, you were making an unsightly mockery of yourself," Onslaught remarked with a chuckle.

"Oh, I know. I had to bribe some people who took footage of me. So embarrassing," Swindle said with a grumble. "I should really learn how to ignore a drink."

"It would certainly help," Onslaught agreed as he looked to see Bumblebee and Drift helping each other off the floor.

"Ugh… I feel like shit," Bumblebee said.

"Same," Drift agreed.

"Alright, you two seem sober enough," Onslaught said as he approached them. "We have less than an hour before the memorial. We need to get you two cleaned up. Bile on your frame is not appropriate for such an occasion." The two Autobots looked down at themselves to see some of their bile on themselves.

"Ugh… I can't believe we look like this," Bumblebee said with disgust. "We need to get to the shower as soon as possible."

"I agree," Drift said with a grumble.

"Glad you agree. Me and Swindle will help you both get to your room," Onslaught said as he turn to his gestaltmate. "You help Bumblebee. I'll assist Drift."

"I can do that," Swindle agreed as the two came over to them and held on to them carefully.

"It's not like we need your help," Drift said to them.

"But we appreciate it all the same," Bumblebee said to them. "It's good that we're getting along."

"Agreed. I don't want us to start murdering each other again. We all know that Monobear is doing this for his own benefit," Onslaught said. "Whether for entertainment or psychological experiment, all this is done at the expanse of our suffering."

"The fragger. Don't understand how that psychopath can do this to us," Swindle grumbled as they opened the door out.

"Am I supposed to clean that?"

"Gah!" Swindle yelled as a monobot stood in front of them. The monobot was looking behind them at the bile that was on the floor and bench before examining Bumblebee and Drift.

"A reminder: Iacon Wasteland is not good if you don't want to get sick. There is a drinking game around it for a reason that is highly unadvised," the Monobot advised them.

"You gave us the damn drink," Drift complained.

"Only because you asked. Remember, I follow all orders so long as I don't help you murder someone," Monobot told them. "That said, if you need some help covering a crime up, there might be some loopholes that can be arranged."

"We don't want them," Onslaught brushed him off.

"I understand. After all, Monobear hasn't even released the next motive. It be rather pointless to kill without a motive in play," the AI remarked.

"We're not going to kill again," Swindle said to him with a grimace. "We've lost too many people."

"How many times have you said that?" Monobot asked them. "We've had five incidents already. It is statistically likely for another murder to occur."

"I can't agree with that. We shall not let all of died be in vain," Onslaught said as he clenched his fist.

"I understand why you think that," Monobot remarked with a small bow. "These murders must've taken its toll on you and your fellow gestaltmate the most. A bond like that… it's much by very few."

"I think Rewind might argue against that," Drift remarked. "He lost his conjunx because of this sick game."

"Ah yes, that is true," Monobot acknowledge. "The poor archivist lost his conjunx. A very strong bond as well."

"Something you won't ever understand," Onslaught stated.

"Hmm… true, emotional bonds are not something I engaged in. It is fairly pointless," the AI agreed. "Besides, so long as there's despair, I'll be fine. No need for any bonds."

"It's impossible for you to understand," Swindle said to him as he gestured to the others. "Let's go. We need to get ready for the memorial."

"Right. Let's go," Onslaught ordered. "All he cares for is despair. Let's leave him to himself." With that, the four of them walked off, the AI watching them leave as they did so.

"Hmm… guess I'll have to clean now," the AI said as he sent another version of himself with cleaning supplies over.

* * *

"DEAAAAADY!" Wildrider yelled as he pounded on the door. "Time for the memorial!"

"Must I remind you they're soundproof," Perceptor remarked, annoyed. "I hate repeating myself, you know."

"Sorry," Wildrider apologized as the door opened to show an annoyed Dead End with Sparky on hand and a datapad clipped to his hip.

"Shall we go?" Dead End asked them. "The sooner we're done, the sooner I can return to my room in peace."

"Well you're not excited, but at least you're determined," Perceptor remarked.

"That was kind of a bad thing at the last trial," Wildrider remarked. "I like lack-of-effort Deady more."

"I don't care for your opinion," Dead End said bluntly as he started walking. "Let's leave."

"Right behind you!" Wildrider said as he followed behind him. Perceptor gave a sigh as he followed behind them.

"I'm friends with maniacs," the scientist muttered to himself.

* * *

"9PM. Any stragglers not here yet?" Bludgeon asked everyone that was there.

"It appears that Jazz and Rewind are still not here," Hound said, disappointment in his voice as he sat on the ground next to Nautilator.

"We'll wait a little longer for them, but no more," Dead End said as he read his datapad with sparky on top of his head, Wildrider making sure it stays balanced on his head by constantly adjusting it.

"Come on, Deady. We can wait for them," Wildrider said to him.

"It would be rude to do so," Perceptor agreed with him. "We just need to wait a bit."

"But we better not wait too long. I really want to take Nautilator back for further examinations," Knock Out said to them.

"I'm fine for now. Honestly," Nautilator told him as he sit.

"I think we need to get you back as soon as possible," Bludgeon agreed with Knock Out. "We need to make sure you are completely fine."

"A wise decision. You have to care about your friends," Onslaught said as he looked to Swindle.

"But you also have to be careful about them," Hoist said as he glared at Smokescreen, who was laying on the ground on his back in a relaxed matter with his hands behind his head.

"Huh-huh, very true," Smokescreen said casually and Hoist scoffed with a shake of his head in disgust.

"Honestly, my head is such a mess, I like this to be over quickly as well," Bumblebee agreed as did Drift as they sat together, helping each other to nurse their hangover, both looking clean now.

"Well, we still need Rewind's effigy of Chromedome, right?" Skywarp asked. "We can't start without it."

"He's right. All of us who had one have given ours," Beachcomber stated. Strap to the top of each poles was one of the effigies, except for one pole, which was still barren.

"That isn't good… should someone look for him and Jazz?" Scavenger asked.

"Looking for me?" a voice said and everyone turned to see Jazz coming over. "Sorry I'm late. I'm pretty invested in my research."

"Your research? Still looking at all the stuff you got from the archives?" Mixmaster asked him.

"Yeah. It's a lot of information to go through, but I'm doing as best I can with all the dense information," Jazz explained to them.

"With him here, all that leaves is Rewind, right?" Blurr asked.

"Yes, he's still not here yet," Knock Out acknowledged. "Wonder what is taking him so long."

"I could go search for him. It would be bad if… you know," Blurr said, leaving the implication in the air.

"Y-yeah… go search for him, please," Hound agreed.

"Oh, come on. He ain't dead yet. Monobitch hasn't even revealed his motive," Smokescreen said to them.

"Shut up you bastard!" the preservationist yelled at the serial killer.

"What. It's the truth," Smokescreen said with a shrug. "He probably just decided not to come. That's all."

"We can't take that risk in an environment like this," Perceptor stated. "Ten of us are dead. We must not let anyone die."

"Right!" Blurr agreed. "I'll head on over right now and-"

"I'm here," Rewind spoke up.

"Rewind!" Hound said as he noticed him. "You're okay!"

"Yeah. Sorry for worrying all of you," the archivist apologized as he went over to Bludgeon and offered the effigy of Chromedome to him. "Here."

"Thank you, small one," Bludgeon said as he bent over and picked it up from him carefully.

"Welcome," Rewind muttered as he stepped back and looked to Hound. "Hey."

"H-hey," Hound greeted him back. "Been a couple of days."

"Yeah," Rewind agreed as he stood awkwardly before coming over and sitting next to the green bot as everyone else kept talking to each other. "How are you?"

"I'm… I'm fine. More importantly, how about you?" Hound asked him. "I know I… I scared you earlier."

"I'm… I'm fine," Rewind assured him. "I know I've let you alone for all this time."

"Well, I've had Knock Out and Bludgeon to talk to, but neither are much for small talk," Hound remarked.

"Yeah…" Rewind agreed. The two sat quiet for a second before Hound spoke again.

"Look, Rewind. I just want us to talk," Hound said. "I've only said what I did because I want to protect you."

"I know. It's just… Chromedome died because he saved my life. I don't want the same to happen to you," Rewind said to him.

"Rewind… I understand. It's why I'll wait until we're out of here to get justice. And I'll make sure to get it the right way. I'll play along with Jazz's intentions of doing it legally. Judge, jury, and hopeful execution," Hound assured him.

"That's good… but you still scared me back then" Rewind told him.

"And I'm sorry," Hound assured him as he wrapped his arm around Rewind, "but I just wanted to protect you. Someone innocent like you doesn't deserve being here."

"None of us do," Rewind said. "We shouldn't be here. None of us should. Not even Smokescreen."

Hound sighed at that. "I guess you have a point. None of us belong to this hellhole. When we get that damn mastermind, we'll execute the fucker. To avenge Chromedome. To avenge everyone."

"Yes… we can't let his death be in vain," Rewind agreed.

"Glad you think so," Hound said with a small smile.

"All done," Bludgeon said as he finished prepping the pole for the effigy. "Now, are we ready for the flames?"

"Yes… I believe so," Jazz agreed as they all had various forms of agreement.

"Good," Bludgeon said as he grabbed a piece of metal with a cloth wrapped around one end of it. The metallikato expert grabs the blowtorch and turned it on, bring out a small flame, before bringing it to the cloth and setting it alight. He discarded it back to its proper place and went to the poles one by one, using the metal piece to keep distance as he sets it each one on fire. Shockwave, Soundwave, Vortex, Brawl, Punch, Counterpunch, Chromedome, Mirage, Nightbeat, Blast Off, and Ratchet.

Bludgeon paused as he reached the pole that held the final effigy; Jhiaxus. "I'm sorry," Bludgeon said as he slowly brought the makeshift torch to the pole. The fire slowly headed up the base of the pole, slowly covering it in flames.

And that's when Bludgeon felt something on his arm. He scrunched his face up in confusion as he brought his arm up to see a water droplet on it. "What the…?" Bludgeon wondered as he felt more and more water coming down. "No! Stop! It'll put out the fires!" the metallikato expert yelled as all the others looked around in confusion at all the rain.

"What the hell… where did this rain come from?" Drift wondered.

"We're indoors, right?" Beachcomber asked.

"We should be," Jazz muttered as Bludgeon was grabbing more accelerant and putting them on the poles to keep the flames.

" _STOP_! Stay alit!" Bludgeon yelled as he tossed more and more accelerant, trying to keep the flames going, but it wasn't working as the flames started to die. No matter how much Bludgeon tried, the flames soon faded to embers and all that was left was the charred remains of the poles and effigies, leaving Jhiaxus's effigy untouched. " _NO_! Where did this rain come from!" Bludgeon yelled as he looked around angrily.

"I did it!" Monobear yelled as he came out of nowhere to greet them. "Fire is  _very_ dangerous. I had to put it out before he got out of control! You could've start a wildfire!"

"YOU INSOLENT BEAR! How  _dare_ you!" Bludgeon growled at the plushy bear.

"What's wrong with you?! Did you just come to ruin our memorial?" Skywarp questioned him.

"Well, I won't lie, I did wanted to do that. All of you pretending that another murder won't occur is pretty funny and pathetic, and I had to ruin that optimistic thought in your head. But, that isn't the main reason. You're all here and it's also about that time," Monobear explained to him.

"Huh? 'About that time.' Do you mean-" Rewind attempted to ask him.

"Yep! That's right! It's time for another motive!" Monobear said to them.

"Why you… what is it this time?" Mixmaster asked the bear angrily.

"Oh, for what that motive is… I'm keeping it a secret!" Monobear said to them.

"What? What does that mean?" Drift asked him.

"Oh, you'll see. Trust me," Monobear chuckled. "I will tell you how it works though. The motive will affect each person in the morning and will continue to do so until a murder occurs or you all learn."

"Until we all learn? What does that mean?" Perceptor asked.

"Oh, just a little hint," Monobear said teasingly. "You don't understand, but you will very soon."

"That's all you're going to say!?" Blurr asked him. "You're never this vague!"

"Heh. You already found the answer to it earlier. You just have to remember," Monobear said to them.

"Huh. What do you mean?" Dead End asked, glaring at him.

"That's all for now! Bye-bye!" Monobear said. "And no more fires! My fur is not easy to dry from the rain!" With that, Monobear left, leaving all the teachers behind in the rain, the water washing all over them.

"Wow. What an asshole," Smokescreen said in disbelief. "Even I have better standards than him. Can't believe he actually left us out in the rain."

"That's what you're complaining about?" Knock Out asked him, annoyed.

"It's a dick move," Smokescreen said. "Who leaves someone out in the rain?"

"Uh, now is not the time, guys," Swindle said to them as he points to Bludgeon who was on his knees in front of the pole.

"I've… I've failed you," Bludgeon said as he stared at the unburnt effigy of Jhiaxus. "I'm so weak and powerless again. I'm sorry, master."

"Bludgeon…," Nautilator whispered as he attempted to stand up. "Stop. Please."

"Why? A creature as weak as me is unable to honor his master because of that bear… a single bear. Because of him, I can't do a damn thing. This shouldn't be possible," Bludgeon said to him as Nautilator got on his feet.

"Yeah. And I can't do anything really. Guess we're in the same boat there," Nautilator said as he stepped closer to him.

"Yes… we're all so pathetic," Bludgeon said to him and as Nautilator got closer, he believed he saw coolant forming in his optics.

"You're not pathetic. Pathetic is giving up. We may be weak and powerless, but we're not pathetic, are we?" Nautilator asked him. "We… we have to be able to defeat the bear, right."

"I don't know if we can. The possibility seems less and less possible with each day and now this… how can I live with myself when I let the bear stop me." As he said that, Nautilator saw him feeling up the handle of his sword in his scabbard.

"Bludgeon, don't," Nautilator said as he got next to him and wrapped his arms around him. "We… we can find another way. Don't think about it. Please. Don't. I need you."

"Y-you… you need me?" Bludgeon asked as he turned to him.

"Yes. I… I can't do anything without you. I'm just a pathetic idiot who hurts himself all the time without you. Please," Nautilator begged him.

"Nautilator…" Bludgeon said with a small sigh as he slowly released the grip on his sword. "Let's bring you back to the Med-Bay. You shouldn't have stand."

"Yeah… my legs hurt now," the seacon admitted as Bludgeon stood up and lifted Nautilator up in his arms.

"Shh… let's just bring you to the med-bay," Bludgeon said to him. "You need to rest. We all need to rest."

"Okay…" Nautilator agreed as he stayed silent as he was carried away.

"Guess… it's time for us to rest," Jazz sighed.

"I don't want too. That motive… I don't want to wake up with it affecting me," Beachcomber said to him nervously. "He said in the morning. That means when we wake up, one of us will be affected with it. I don't want it."

"Oh, calm down. I'm sure it isn't  _that_  bad," Wildrider assured him. "You just need to make sure it doesn't turn you into a murderous fiend."

"You're one to talk," Smokescreen remarked.

"And  _you're_  one to talk," Wildrider said with a laugh.

"Touché," Smokescreen said with a little nod.

"Look, I'm heading to my room. We'll deal with this motive tomorrow," Jazz said to the group. "Tomorrow, we need to figure out who's affected by the motive and figure out what the side effects of it are."

"That sounds like a good idea," Onslaught agreed with him." We need to identify the threat and contain it. Last thing we need is another murder."

"Yes. We may not know about what the motive is, but we need to stop it," Perceptor said to them with a nod. "But for now, we can't do anything. It's best if we rest up for now and brace ourselves for the motive."

"We have no choice, do we?" Scavenger asked nervously as he held on to Mixmaster.

"Indeed, we don't," Knock Out sighed as he went to Hound. "Come on, let's get you back to the slab."

"Fine," Hound agreed as he let Knock Out and Rewind help him up.

"I'll join you. Might stay the night," Rewind said to him.

"Thank you," Hound said with a small smile as they left together.

"Well, might as well take my leave," Dead End said as he walked off, causing Sparky to fall off.

"Hey, get back, Deady! You dropped Sparky!" Wildrider yelled as he followed behind with Sparky in hand.

"Stay away," Dead End said to him.

"Oh dear," Perceptor sighed as he walked off after them. "Better make sure Wildrider doesn't do something stupid."

"Scavenger, I'm guessing you want to stay with me, tonight," Mixmaster said to Scavenger.

"Yes, please!" Scavenger begged him. "Take me with you."

"Of course…" Mixmaster sighed as he petted him on the head. "Come on. Let's head to my room."

"R-right," Scavenger agreed as the two left behind him.

"Swindle. Feel comfortable by yourself?" Onslaught asked his subordinate.

"Y-yeah. I can handle it," Swindle assured him. "I just… hope we're both the same tomorrow."

"As do I. Let's go," Onslaught said as the two walked off.

"Hey, Drift… want to room together tonight?" Bumblebee asked him.

"Yeah, I guess," Drift said with a sigh. "Might be best to sleep with a friend these days. Is your room okay?"

"Of course. Let's go," Bumblebee said and the two walked off.

"Well, see you guys later. Stay safe," Jazz said to the remaining mechs as he too walked off.

"I'm out too. See ya," Blurr said as he ran off quickly.

"Ugh, tonight is going to be bad night," Skywarp complained as he walked off.

"Oh… I'm so staying up all night," Beachcomber said as he left, leaving two mechs behind.

"Well, well, just the two of us. It feels like destiny every time," Smokescreen said to Hoist as they stood together.

"It would appear so, much to my displeasure," Hoist said with a glare.

"So… want to be roomies for the next couple of days?" Smokescreen asked him.

"And let you kill me in my sleep? I'll pass you up on that offer," Hoist said to him.

"Aw, well… are you sure? You don't like being alone, do you?" Smokescreen questioned him.

"No… I don't," Hoist admitted, "but I'll take that over rooming with a serial killer."

"Alright… but remember, the offer is always open to just you, bud," Smokescreen said with a little wink.

"Don't call me that," Hoist said as he walked off. "Be seeing you around."

"Be seeing you around, indeed," Smokescreen said with a little chuckle before walking off on his own as well. "Here's hoping, tomorrow doesn't change you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! We're finally getting to the damn motive next chapter. Figure I've been waiting long enough.


	88. Chapter 6: Memory Gain?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this isn't exactly a complete chapter but half of the intended one. This just grew so long that I decided to separate them. The next chapter will deal with the second half of this day.
> 
> Also, I'm think of adding scrum debates to the previous trails. They seem fun to do. :)

**Day 21**

"This is an announcement. It is now 7 am. Have a wonderful day."

“Ugh…” Jazz groaned as he woke up from recharge. The spy grunted as he pushed himself up and brushed aside the datapads scatted on the berth onto the floor before getting up on his feet. ‘Fell asleep early…’ he thought as he walked over to the bathroom and headed for the shower. ‘Haven’t cleaned myself in a while. Been too busy researching,’ he thought as he stepped in the shower and turned it on to a scalding temperature and let it washed over him as he thought things over.

‘My memory seems the same, which means I know nothing. Going by what Monobear said last night, the next motive obviously has to do with memory in some way. I was actually hoping it affect me so that I can finally learn the truth. That way, I can probably learn who the mastermind is and finally make sense of the data. Monobear must be taunting us. No. Taunting _me_.’

Jazz sighed as he just washed himself.

‘I need to find the one who has recovered their lost memory. Whatever it is that they remember, they’re far more dangerous than they previously were, if we just leave them alone. I need to interrogate them and uncover what they remember. Whatever information they hold must be key to identifying the mastermind behind this killing game.’

Jazz grabbed the anti-rust gel and started rubbing it on his chassis.

‘If I was the mastermind, and I wanted to target someone with potentially dangerous information, I would go after the most vulnerable ones first. So who would that be? Dead End seems obvious. He’s been acting more and more withdrawn. His fellow gestaltmate is no better. Serial killers are always dangerous. Which leads to Smokescreen, most unfortunately, that bastard. He managed to fool me into thinking he was just a down on his lucky gambler, only getting into scuffles over money. He purposely murdered anyone who stood in the way of making a profit. Swindle should feel lucky Smokescreen didn’t silence him as well…’

Jazz shook his head as he finished applying and rinsing off the gel before turning off the shower and walking out, grabbing the towel to dry himself off and head out after he found himself sufficiently cleaned.

‘Just past 7. Guess I better halt my research for now and meet up with everyone for breakfast. I might be able to gauge their responses and figure out which of them has recovered their memory, if that is what I believe has occurred.’

With a goal in mind, Jazz set out for the cafeteria, exiting the room and looking around to see if anyone was around. With nary a soul in sight, he headed for the stairs and descended them down to the first floor and made his way to the cafeteria and looked inside. There, the only one he saw was Blurr, who was simply drinking a cube by himself. Upon hearing the footsteps, Blurr turned to see Jazz and started smiling upon seeing him and waving him over.

“Hey, Jazz! Come on over. You know I hate being by myself,” Blurr told him and Jazz chuckled at that.

“Guess you do,” Jazz agreed as he went over to the kitchen to grab a cube of energon and took a seat next to the racer. “So, guess me and you are the first ones here.”

“Well, not really. Bludgeon and Knock Out arrived just after me to get some cubes for themselves, Nautilator, and Hound,” Blurr informed him. “We chatted for a minute before he headed off to give them their energy.”

“Ah, well, that’s good,” Jazz nodded. “Got to make sure they’re okay as well.”

“Yeah. From what I heard, Hound and Nautilator should both be able to walk around today and leave the med-bay permanently, if all goes well,” Blurr told him happily as he drank his rapidly depleting cube.

“Well, that’s good. I’m sure they’ve spent more than enough time in that damn place,” Jazz grumbled as he drank his cube a lot slower. “So, what do you think this motive is?”

“Has to be remembering something. You remember back before we were given the fourth motive and found the basement under the mall?” Blurr asked Jazz, who nodded. “Well, if you remember, Bludgeon and Nautilator found this datapad from one of the previous contestants of this game who, for the sixth motive, just started remembering everything.”

“Hey… you’re right, I do remember,” Jazz nodded.

“Yeah, Bludgeon reminded me of that when we talked,” Blurr informed him “He had been thinking on it long and hard and he is pretty sure that will be the motive, as am I.”

“Well, glad we’re in agreement. I’ve been thinking that was the case as well,” Jazz confirmed. “So, the motive must be our lost memories.”

“Oh, don’t remind me of motives,” they heard a voice complained and turned to see Drift come in as he quickly got a cube and took a seat across from them, having looked like he took a fresh shower to clean himself up after having drinking so much last night. “That’s the last thing I want to talk about.”

“Well, we kind of have no choice, as that motive is in effect now,” Blurr told him.

“Well, I still don’t remember anything,” Drift told them.

“Neither do I,” the racer remarked.

“Same,” Jazz agreed. “It’s why I came down here. I wanted to see if the person who remember would tell us, or at least be able to figure it out.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Drift sighed depressingly.

“Are you okay?” Jazz asked him.

“I am. It’s just…” Drift didn’t finished the sentence, but they both could tell Drift was speaking of Ratchet.

“Drift, it’ll be okay,” Jazz assured him. “We’ll avenge everyone.”

“I find that more unlikely with each day… but I know Ratchet would be _pissed_ at me if I just give up right now,” Drift said with a sad chuckle.

“Huh, he sure would. He would kick of all asses if we just give up,” Blurr remarked.

“Yeah… best make sure Ratchet’s sacrifice wasn’t wasted,” Drift said.

“Not a bad thing to want to do.” The group turned to another new voice, that belonging to Mixmaster with Scavenger trailing behind him.

“Hey, you guys. Come on down,” Jazz offered and the two nodded as they got their cubes and took a seat, Mixmaster next to Drift and Scavenger right beside his gestaltmember.

“So, how are you two today?” Blurr asked them.

“We’re fine,” Mixmaster assured him. “Pretty sure the motive isn’t affecting either of us.”

“Yeah, sure,” Scavenger nodded nervously and Jazz watched him carefully.

‘Scavenger is looking fishy… but then again, he is always nervous about everything, especially since Smokescreen is still around…’

“So, this motive is memory-based, right?” Mixmaster asked and they nodded before explaining to the two about their theory about it being like motive in the deceased student’s datapad. “Hmm, yes, that does seem to make sense as a possible motive for Monobear to inflict on us.”

“Exactly what we’re thinking,” Drift told him.

“Well, how do we fight against this motive?” Scavenger asked. “If it’s in people’s mind, we can prevent them from remembering.”

“We know. That’s what we’re trying to figure out. First, we need to identify them,” Jazz stated.

“And then what? Confine them to their room?” Drift asked him.

“That might be an acceptable thing to do, yes,” Jazz nodded. “At the very least, we need to interrogate them about what they remember. We need to know.”

“And what makes you think they will tell you what they remember?” Drift asked him. “They remember it all. Who knows what horrible things they remember?”

“It’s would a bit terrifying remember everything again,” Blurr remarked. “I mean, just imagine all the missing years coming to you all at once.”

“It would probably drive someone insane,” Scavenger remarked.

“Not probably. Definitely,” Drift remarked.

“Oh yeah, so if that’s the case, it should be easy to figure out who got their memory back, right?” Scavenger asked.

“Just look for the one who’s acting more unhinged,” Drift remarked before pausing. “Unless it’s Wildrider, then he might actually act more sane.”

“That would be interesting,” they heard another voice said and turned to see Dead End walk in, Sparky tucked under his arm as he got a cube and took a seat a bit away from everyone. He took note of their weary looks and gave a sigh. “No need to look at me like that.”

“Says the bastard that got Ratchet killed,” Drift growled.

“Your anger is justified, but will help no one, unless myself if you’re planning to kill me,” Dead End stated.

“I just might…”

“Drift, calm down,” Jazz said as he reached a hand over to grasp his hand. “Trust me, he’ll suffer more if you let him live.”

“That’s… also true,” Drift agreed with a labored sigh.

“Hmph… you know what I hate,” Dead End muttered with a roll of his optics. “Anyway, this motive, it has to do with memory, correct?”

“That’s what we’re guessing and why isn’t Wildrider with you?” Mixmaster asked him.

“If I got out early, he’ll waste his time knocking on my door,” Dead End remarked.

“Ah, I understand,” the chemist remarked. “The longer he doesn’t come down, the better.”

“Exactly.”

“Aren’t you the taunting one,” remarked another and they turned to see Smokescreen strut on in, smirk on his face.

“Smokescreen…” Jazz growled as the gambler grabbed a cube and took a seat between Scavenger and Dead End, the former scooching closer to Mixmaster to get away from his assaulter.

“Hey Jazz. Glad to be here,” Smokescreen said as he turned to Scavenger. “Happy to see me?”

“Say another word to him and I’ll rip your voice box out,” Mixmaster threaten him.

“Whaaaat? We’re all friends here,” Smokescreen laughed with a pat on Scavenger’s back.

“No one is buying that, you consummate liar,” Dead End commented with a sigh. Even he had no time for Smokescreen’s constant lies.

“Thanks for the compliment,” Smokescreen remarked, pleased with being called a liar.

“You shouldn’t be proud about that, you serial killing bastard,” Blurr told him.

“Why not? Everyone ought to be proud of what they’re good at,” Smokescreen remarked.

“Not a bad idea in concept, but with you? That’s a detriment to everyone,” Blurr remarked.

“You wound me,” Smokescreen said with mock sincerity.

“Geez, you're sounding like a real aft in here,” Skywarp remarked as he came in, Laserbeak on his should as he grabbed two cubes and took a seat by Jazz.

“That would be me. Everyone doesn’t appear to like me,” Smokescreen told him.

“That’s cause you’re a jerk,” Skywarp told him and Laserbeak nodded in agreement with him.

“Hey, I’m the one that stopped you idiots from blaming each other in Nightbeat and Mirage’s death,” Smokescreen pointed out.

“It was nice to not be blamed for a murder I didn’t commit,” said Onslaught as him and Swindle entered and got a cube. Onslaught took a seat next to Blurr and Swindle next to him.

“You’re welcome!” Smokescreen said.

“You still assaulted Swindle and led to Blast Off’s death and that is unforgiveable,” Onslaught reminded him. “Once we get out of here, we will get vengeance.”

“Through legal means,” Jazz added to that.

“We’ll see about that,” Swindle growled.

“We can still be friends, Swindle,” Smokescreen insisted. “I never killed you for a reason, friend.”

“We’re not friends anymore,” Swindle stated.

“I see we’re of like minds,” Hoist stated as he entered as well, getting a cube, and taking a seat – reluctantly – next to Smokescreen. “Smokescreen has betrayed both of our trust.”

“But we can still be friends!” Smokescreen insisted as he wrapped an arm around Hoist.

“I highly doubt that,” he remarked.

“But there’s a chance!”

“We’ll kill you before he decides,” Swindle remarked.

“I would approve of it,” Drift agreed, feeling the handle of his sword. “I can imagine Smokescreen and Dead End’s death right now…”

“You’ll only hurt yourself,” Dead End told him with a morose sigh.

“He’s right,” Mixmaster said as he swiped Drift’s hand from the handle. “Do that here and you’ll get yourself executed.”

“Ugh… fair point,” Drift nodded.

“Who we’re missing?” Onslaught asked.

“Rewind, Bumblebee, Perceptor, Wildrider, and Beachcomber,” Blurr stated, counting each of them off with his fingers. “Knock Out and Bludgeon already came here for cubes to bring to Nautilator and Hound.”

“You think they’ll come down?” Hoist asked him.

“I’m here, I’m here,” Beachcomber said as he came in as well, grabbed a cube, and sat next to Swindle. “Couldn’t recharge much. Kept thinking about the next motive.”

“As have we,” Mixmaster acknowledged.

“We should probably speak about that once the rest get here,” Jazz recommended.

“Not like we haven’t talked about it enough already,” Skywarp remarked.

“Indeed, you can quit talking about it now,” Dead End muttered.

“You wanna talk about how much of a suicidal aft you are?” Skywarp asked him.

“Yes, I know. I’m responsible for Ratchet being executed instead of Smokescreen. I don’t need to be reminded. I much prefer his presence over the serial killer,” Dead End snapped back at him.

“Oh, come on. Even you don’t like me?” Smokescreen asked.

“I was trying to get him out of here,” Dead End remarked, glaring at the serial killer. “I preferred him over everyone.”

“I wonder what Wildrider would think if he heard that?” Skywarp remarked with a grin.

“He understands the malice I hold for him,” Dead End remarked simply. “If he doesn’t, he’s dense in the head.”

“Would not be surprised,” Bumblebee said as he stepped in, looking like he took a shower as well. “He’s currently knocking on your door and Perceptor is trying to get him away from your door.”

“As intended,” Dead End remarked.

“Hmph, not surprised,” Bumblebee remarked as he grabbed a cube and took a seat next to Drift. The two eyed each other before the two drank their energon cubes.

“Hmm… if Perceptor is there, then he might be able to get Wildrider away from the door to come here. That scientist seems to be having a growing fondness for him for some reason that I fail to comprehend,” Dead End remarked. “I thought he was smarter than that.”

“Eh, it happens,” Jazz remarked. “Opposites can attract and that appears to be the case for them. One is logical and rational and the other is definitely not. It happens.”

“I find that line of thought asinine,” Dead End stated, annoyed. “People need some similarities to get along.”

“Then how do you explain Bludgeon and Nautilator?” Blurr asked. “Those two are basically best buds now and they’re complete opposites, as weird as they are.”

“That has been puzzling me as well,” Dead End muttered. “Someone as weak and pathetic as Nautilator being friends with Bludgeon. It boggles the mind.”

“See. Opposites can be friends, like me and Hoist!” Smokescreen cheered.

“We’re not friends,” Hoist insisted.

“I think we’re friends.”

“You’re not friends,” Dead End cut him off. “Anyway, it’s something I have to think over.”

“Do whatever poetic bullshit you want to examine this,” the gambler told him.

“Try not to insult my profession you-“

“DEADY!” Wildrider yelled as the maniac came out and tackle him as Dead End sat in his chair, making Dead End gasped in shock.

“Wildrider, what in the pit!” Dead End yelled at him.

“I told him you were probably here,” Perceptor remarked as he grabbed a couple of cubes and took a seat by the struggling duo.

“You vile being!” Dead End yelled as Wildrider let go of Dead End and took his seat between his gestaltmate and Perceptor.

“So, that leaves Rewind, right?” Bumblebee asked, ignoring them.

“Oh, Rewind already went over to the Med-Bay to be with Hound,” Perceptor informed them.

“What? He didn’t come down for some energon?” Beachcomber asked him.

“Nah, he just hurried over there,” Wildrider affirmed Perceptor’s statement.

“Huh, how odd,” Mixmaster remarked.

“Well, now that everyone’s here that will be, we should talk about the motive, right?” Drift asked.

“Something about our memory, correct?” Dead End asked them.

“Exactly. It’s our hypothesis that someone will recover their memory each day,” Jazz told them.

“That is what I believe the motive will be,” Perceptor told them. “But would that be enough to incite someone into killing?”

“It sure did in for the student who owned the datapad,” Mixmaster stated.

“That is quite true,” Dead End agreed. “That datapad of the former student of ours did mention that it drove him insane and made him attempt to murder someone.”

“That is correct,” Perceptor acknowledged. “That datapad Bludgeon and Nautilator found did show that. We don’t know the veracity of that datapad, but we have no choice but to believe it is true.”

“It doesn’t seem to be in the mastermind’s character to plant false evidence,” Onslaught stated. “None of us like the mastermind, but he seems to be honest with us, at the very least.”

“So far, but for all we know, everything we’ve learned could be falsified,” Scavenger stated. “We can trust him base on instinct until we find collaborative evidence.”

“We have no choice but to trust the information that’s been given for now,” Jazz told Scavenger.

“That’s right. We have no choice in that regard,” Swindle agreed.

“They can only be true,” Drift stated. “I see no other option.”

“I’m just pointing out a possibility,” Scavenger sated.

“You’re stating an impossibility,” Drift remarked back.

“Well, anyway, what you’re saying is that we need to keep an eye on each other and see if anyone is acting abnormal,” Beachcomber stated.

“That would be correct,” Jazz nodded.

“I believe we can manage that,” Smokescreen agreed as did everyone else in the room.

“Right, very well,” Jazz nodded as most of the people in their room had finished their cubes. “Well, I guess this morning meet-up is finished. We’ll talk again later.”

Everyone agreed to it and they all started leaving the area.


End file.
